


A Big Heart

by WalkingFan



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Eventual Smut, F/M, Multi, Romance, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-17
Updated: 2015-05-06
Packaged: 2018-03-13 12:25:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 145,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3381437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WalkingFan/pseuds/WalkingFan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If you had asked me two years ago if I thought I would be in love and living with a wonderful man like Rick Grimes, I would have said no. But I am and I couldn't be any happier. Yet when a mysterious man walks into my diner, I know things are definitely about to change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The wind was blowing hard today and I watched through the diner window as a flyer flew off a car windshield and got swept away. The sky seemed to be slowly darkening and I figured a storm must be rolling in. A late September thunderstorm was just what I needed today, as if the tips weren’t already slow enough.

“Order up!”

I was abruptly pulled out of my thoughts as I turned and saw my table’s plates were ready. I dropped the silverware that I was wrapping back into the case and walked to the window that connected to the kitchen. The breakfast dishes were steaming, piled high with eggs, bacon and thick slices of toast smothered in gravy. My own stomach growled as I realized I hadn’t bothered to eat this morning, something that I knew Rick would be annoyed about if he knew.

I grabbed the three plates, balancing one on my arm and two in each hand, and walked to my one table. Three construction workers gave me big grins as they each got their orders. As I glanced around, I made a mental note that two of them needed refills on their coffee. “Here you go, gentlemen. Can I grab you anything else?”

“Yea, sweetheart. How ‘bout your number?” one asked, an older man who was missing half his teeth. I could tell because of how big he smiled when he winked suggestively at me.

“’Fraid that’s not on the menu, sir. But let me get you a refill on your coffee.” I had been asked that at least three times a day for the past two years and I knew how to let each man down easy. After I grabbed the coffee pot and promptly topped off each mug, I went back to wrapping silverware.

“Morning Beth,” I heard a sweet voice call from behind me. I looked right and saw Darlene walking behind the counter. She tucked her purse and jacket under the sink, right next to mine, and pulled the curtain back over our hiding spot. She smoothed her wrinkled uniform and ran a hair through her frizzy, red hair. I looked down at my own pale green, button front uniform and sighed because mine was just as wrinkled. No matter how much starch you put into these things, they never looked good.

“Morning Darlene,” I called to her. We exchanged small smiles and she tied a stained white apron around her waist.

“How’s it been?” she asked. I knew this was only a pleasantry because she could look around and see just how busy it had been. I’d had all of three tables since six this morning.

“Deader than dead,” I responded.

“Damn…Ain’t makin’ hardly no money workin’ here, swear to God,” she mumbled under her breath as she started to help me wrap forks, spoons, and knives together.

“Me neither,” I sighed. I’d been working at Sam’s Diner for just over two years now and it certainly had its ups and downs. The busy time was always during the summer when people would visit the lake and stop by here. But now summer was over and fall was settling into our small town. Cedarville wasn’t anything too special, but we had a huge lake that was perfect for just about any kind of watersport. The summer tourism helped our town, but it certainly made for lean times come winter.

We chatted some more until we saw our manager, Lee, poke his head out the kitchen door and look around. He always said it was to just take a look at the customers but we knew better than that. We zipped our lips and quickly split up. Darlene wiped down the already spotless counter and I checked on my table of construction workers. After I filled up their near-empty mugs with piping hot coffee, Lee seemed satisfied that we were earning our keep and made his way back to his tiny office in the back of the diner.

Me and Darlene rolled our eyes at one another and chuckled. Then a table of four came in and I nodded to Darlene to take it. Her eyes told me she was grateful and I went back to trying to look busy behind the counter. My table finally called for their check and after I brought them their slip, they paid with a company credit card and thankfully left me a decent tip.

I was thankful for that much, even though cash would have been better. I quickly bused their table and took the dirty dishes to the back. Raul, our dishwasher, gave me a brief nod and went back to the music he had playing through his headphones. Once I went back out to the counter, Darlene came up behind me and whispered in my ear, “Heads up. Your favorite guy is back.”

I smiled at her and looked to where I knew he would be sitting, the booth in the far back corner. And sure enough, there he was. The same man who had been here for the past two days. He had dark shaggy hair, like he hadn’t bothered to cut it in months, and he wore the same outfit too. Black jeans with a dark green button-up shirt. Over the shirt he wore a black leather vest that had angel wings on the back.

His skin was tan, like he’d been out in the sun for days and he wore just a touch of facial chair around his mouth. Like the past two days, he looked down at the menu we kept on each table before he pushed it away. Then he brought up a newspaper that he opened towards the back. That was a new one. Before, he’d just sit there in silence while he stared down at a cup of coffee.

“I don’t know why he even bothers to come in here. All he ever asks for is coffee,” I said to Darlene with a sigh as I readied to walk over.

“Maybe he likes the view,” and she winked at me.

I scoffed and swatted at her behind before I walked over to the table he sat at, always the same one, which happened to always be my section. “Well hey there. Long time, no see. What can I get you today? Wait, let me guess. Coffee?” I was trying to be funny and hoped he took it that way. Some people didn’t care for my humor and I learned that the hard way.

Thankfully he smirked but he didn’t bother to look at me. His eyes always stayed on the table in front of him. “Yea. That’s fine,” he mumbled.

“Coffee it is.” I walked to the counter and grabbed a mug and the pot of regular. I sat the cup down in front of him and filled it to the brim.

“Thanks,” he nodded.

“You’re welcome,” I replied with a smile, one that he didn’t even see. I walked away but glanced at him occasionally while I worked on refilling salt and pepper shakers. He never said much but I couldn’t help but be curious about him. He obviously wasn’t from around here. Yesterday I had seen him walk over from the motel across the street. Most of those rooms were empty this time of year, but one had an old Harley Davidson sitting in front of it, so I figured that must be his.

“Stop starin’ or I’m gonna tell Rick,” Darlene teased next to me. I smiled at her and rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t stop the small blush that worked its way across my pale skin.

“Oh please,” I said. “Rick ain’t the jealous type.” And it was true. My boyfriend never got jealous. He always seemed so happy to walk into a room with me that he never even cared if another guy looked my way. My eyes still flitted to the corner of the diner anyway, but I tried to be less obvious about it. There was something about this man that grabbed my attention, but I just didn’t know what it was. Maybe because he was so different from everything else in this tiny town.

After we finished with the salt and pepper shakers, I went back to give him a refill on coffee. While I was filling his cup, I glanced at the paper he had spread across the table. It was open to the job advertisements. “Looking for work?” I asked curiously.

The mysterious man shrugged but didn’t say anything. I knew that was the brush off, but I couldn’t stop myself from inquiring further. “What’re you looking for? What kind of work?”

He shrugged again but this time he actually spoke. “Don’t know. Anythin’ really. Done just about every job there is. Mechanic, construction, bartender.”

“Well, if I hear of anything, I’ll keep you in mind,” I said in an almost too cheerful voice. I cringed inwardly at how ridiculous I probably sounded.

“Thanks,” he said with a nod.

“Sure.” Just then, I had an elderly couple walk in the door and sit in one of the booths. Darlene gave me the go ahead, so I walked over and took their order. While they ate, I tried to look busy while I watched the rain start to pour down outside. I sighed at the gray day and silently wished for more sunlight. Rain was always so depressing.

Once the couple finished their food, they each requested apple pie so I went behind the counter and cut them a slice from the pie we put in the glass display case. I ended up with one slice left. I debated for a minute while I took the couple their pieces. Once I walked back to the counter though, I had decided my next move and took the last slice out of the tin pie plate and sat it down on a small dish. Then I took it over to the table with the mysterious man and sat it down in front of him.

“Didn’t order that…” he mumbled quickly.

“S’okay. It’s on the house. It was the last slice anyways. Didn’t want it to go to waste. Figured you’d probably want something to go with that coffee eventually.”

That was when he finally took the time to look up at me. His eyes were a dull blue and they caught me completely off guard. I looked down at my white sneakers and fiddled with my hands. I don’t know why I gave him the pie, but something about it just felt right. He never ordered food and he always paid for his coffee with ones and some change, like he didn’t have too much to spare. But even so, he always made sure to leave me a decent tip.

“I’m Beth, by the way.” I pointed to my name tag that sat just under the white collar of my uniform.

“Daryl,” he mumbled again and he brought his eyes back down to the table. Before I could say anything else, a white and brown state trooper car pulled up in the parking lot and parked just outside the window where the back booth was located. We both watched as the headlights turned off and two men jumped out of the car. The uniformed officers made a run for it, attempting to avoid the rain.

We watched them dash around the building to the front doors and step inside. They shook the water from their clothes as best as they could and looked around at the practically empty diner. One turned right and headed for the bathroom while the other one walked right up to me and wrapped me up in his arms.

“Well hey there beautiful,” Rick said with a big smile on his face. His happiness was contagious and a grin spread across my lips as well. I felt my uniform get a little wet from his and I tried to push him away.

“Oh, you’re all wet!” I cried with laughter and tried to brush off some of the water that had transferred to me. Even my hair felt slightly damp.

“You see outside? Somebody opened the floodgates!” he said and he ran a hand through his wet hair, brushing back his dark curls. There was no question about it. My man looked good, especially with wet hair. A little blush creeped up my neck as I thought about the dirty things that I could do to him like that.

He smiled at me, like he could read my thoughts and I hoped that I wasn’t broadcasting that clearly to everyone in the diner. I turned around and noticed the man named Daryl was glancing at us, but he quickly looked away once my attention went back to him.

“Oh, sorry if I disrupted anything, sir. Couldn’t help but give this girl here a big, wet hug,” Rick said. He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me one more time, this time getting my back damp and I scoffed at him.

“Excuse me, Daryl, while I give this officer of the law a good talking to. But you enjoy that pie,” I said with a hint of laughter to my voice. Daryl just nodded at us both and put his sights back on the paper in front of him. I dragged Rick to the counter and planted him in one of the swiveling stools. He sat his thermos on the countertop, a clear indication of him needing a refill on coffee.

“You didn’t have to get me all wet,” I mumbled to him as I filled his thermos. I made sure to put some extra pout in my voice, hoping to make him feel slightly guilty.

“Aw…I think you’ll live. I thought only witches melted when they got wet,” he teased me. I stuck my tongue out at him and when he went to grab his full thermos I quickly snatched it out of his reach and played a short game of keep away. There was nothing Rick loved more than his coffee and I was determined to make him wait for it. “Aw, baby. Come on…Don’t you love me?” and he gave me his puppy dog eyes. Damn, that man knew my weaknesses and I relented almost immediately.

He smiled triumphantly and took a sip from it, sighing with relief. “Ah…that’s much better. So how’s your morning been?” he asked.

“Incredibly slow. Don’t bet on the tips being too great this week,” I sighed.

“Well isn’t it great that I make tons of wonderful money working as a glorious state trooper?” he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Oh yea, baby. Don’t forget to buy me a new car with all that wonderful money.”

He smiled at me and I glanced around at my tables to see if anyone needed anything. The elderly couple seemed to be enjoying their pie slowly. I looked at Daryl’s table and saw that he had already eaten the entire slice that I had given him. He really must have been hungry. I thought of him looking for a job then and turned to Rick.

“Hey, do you know anywhere that’s hiring?”

“Hiring? Why? You finally gonna try to leave this place?” he asked with skepticism.

“No, silly. I’m asking for Daryl,” and I nodded my head in the direction of the mysterious man in the corner booth.

“Oh? You’re asking for Daryl?” His eyebrows raised a little in surprise. “Well, no I don’t. But I’ll ask around. What’s he lookin’ for? And why are we trying to help him? And better yet, who is he?”

All of these were good questions that I knew I needed to answer. “I think he’s looking for just about anything. Said he’s been a mechanic, even done construction. I think he just needs some work. And we’re trying to help him because it’s the right thing to do. And he’s my customer.” I ended my statement like this was no longer up for discussion right now.

Rick held up his hands in defeat and smiled at me. “Alright, alright. Like I said, I’ll check around. Here comes Paul. Time to go. See you at the house tonight?” he asked, standing from the stool and picking up his thermos.

“Yep. I gotta run by daddy’s, but I should be home early.” I leaned across the counter and gave him a brief peck. “Love you,” I called as he walked to the door.

“Love you too,” he said as he followed his partner outside. They made another mad dash to the car and pulled away. After I finished watching them leave, I turned towards Daryl's table and saw him quickly look away from my direction.


	2. Chapter 2

“Alright, Darlene. I’m heading out,” I called to my fellow waitress from the end of the counter. I grabbed a white plastic bag filled with food and gave her a short wave.

“Okay, sweetie. Have a good night. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She gave me a return wave and I smiled as I walked out the front doors.

I tossed the food and my purse in the back seat and then climbed behind the wheel of my old, dark red Saturn. It started with a loud grumble and I sent up a silent thank you that it cranked at all. The odds were usually 50/50 that I could even get the engine to turn over so I was relieved that it worked for me today. I desperately needed a new car but times were tight and I didn’t see that happening any time soon.

I left the diner parking lot and headed south. Within a few minutes I was turning down the long, gravel driveway that led to my daddy’s house. I stopped briefly and jumped out to grab his mail. He had a thick stack of white envelopes in his mailbox, about three days worth of mail, which made sense because I hadn’t been by here in just as long. I flipped through the stack to see if anything for me had gotten sent here by mistake but each envelope read “Hershel Greene, D.V.M.”

I hopped back into my car and drove down the rest of the driveway. I pulled in next to his pickup and threw my car into park. I almost winced as I turned the engine off, hoping that it would crank just as easily when I left. After I grabbed the food from the back, I headed in the house that I grew up in.

Sometimes I felt bad letting Daddy live here all by his lonesome. It was a big, three bedroom home that had withered away a little as each year passed. But me and my sister had moved out and now he had it all to himself. I walked up the steps of the front porch and pulled the screen door open, walking into his mildly dusty living room. Sampson, his old cocker-spaniel, greeted me with a loud bark and sniffed at the bag I carried.

“Daddy, I brought you some food,” I called out, trying to pinpoint where he was at. I bent down and gave Sampson a quick rub while I waited.

“Be there in a second, Bethy,” I heard him call out from his study. I walked over and sat the food on the coffee table and plopped down on the sofa, propping my feet up and staring down at my white sneakers. Soon I heard the sound of him walking to the front of the house and within a second he popped around the corner and hobbled to his armchair.

“Daddy, where’s your leg?”

“Well, I s’pose the doctors disposed of it somehow, Beth. I don’t imagine they would keep that around,” he teased me with a wink.

“Oh hush. You know what I mean. Where’s your FAKE leg?” I rolled my eyes at my father’s jab. He leaned the crutch he had been using for support against the armchair and relaxed a little. After a few complications from diabetes, they had to remove his left leg from the knee down a couple years ago. Usually he walked around on a prosthetic leg, but today it was missing.

“Oh, I hate wearing that thing ‘round the house. I only wear it outside to make other people feel better anyhow. So what’d ya bring me?” he asked eagerly.

“Grilled chicken and some veggies.”

“Aw, come on. Can’t bring your dear old dad something better to eat than that?”

“You need to be eating healthier, daddy. Unless you want to lose that other leg. If that happens, you surely won’t be going to treat anymore animals and you know it.” I tried to be easy in my chiding, but my father was so stubborn sometimes. He had no idea how much his bad eating habits made me worry. Since I had moved out a little over a year ago, they had gotten even worse.

“Alright, alright,” he held up his hands in defeat. “How much do I owe ya?”

“Oh, don’t worry about. I get it practically free anyways.” That was a bold faced lie, but I couldn’t let my dad know how big of a prick Lee could be. He’d run down there and raise hell and I’d lose my job before I knew it.

“Well, here. This should cover it,” and he slipped a twenty into my hand.

“Daddy! This is way too much. I don’t need this. Me and Rick aren’t completely broke,” even though I did need it and we kind of were broke.

“Just take it and don’t talk back.” I rolled my eyes at him and tucked the money in my pocket. Sometimes there wasn’t any telling my father no. “You talked to your sister any?” he asked as he started to eat.

“Uh-uh,” I shook my head. “You?”

“Mmm hmm. Said she’s met someone new, wants me to meet him. I don’t think I could take another one of your sister’s little boyfriends,” he sighed.

“Daddy, cut her some slack. Maggie just…doesn’t know how to pick ‘em. Not yet anyways. Maybe this guy will be better!” I tried to stay positive but he gave me a weary look.

“Anyway…how are you and Rick?” He said Rick’s name with a slight shortness to his voice and I held back a groan.

“We’re fine, daddy. The same as always. I’m very happy with him.” It didn’t matter what I said though, my dad had never been a big fan of Rick even though he treated me like a queen. It was probably because he was about 14 years older than me, so I couldn’t necessarily blame him. No man wants to see his daughter date someone that much older than his baby.

“Well you know you can always come back home, Bethy. Your room will always be here. I haven’t touched a thing in it,” he assured me.

“Okay, Daddy. Can we talk about something else please?” I practically begged. Then I had a thought. “Hey, do you know if anyone is hiring in town? Any mechanic or construction jobs or anything?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Uh…a friend from the diner is looking.” I averted my eyes as I spoke, unsure of what my father’s response would be.

“I assume this friend is a male then, if they are looking for mechanic or construction jobs. Does Rick know about this?” He eyed me incredulously.

“Oh, please! Daddy, Rick is not my keeper. And yes, he knows. He’s asking around too. This guy’s just…fallen on hard times. I think he needs some help. You know…it’s the good Christian thing to do.” I added the part on the end knowing that his one weakness was his faith, which he never let anyone call into question. He sighed and gave me a cautioning look, letting me know not to overstep my boundaries.

“You know, you really should come to church with me this Sunday. Jimmy is learning a lot from Pastor Williams. Everyone always asks after you and Maggie.”

“Oh…well I can’t this Sunday. I picked up a shift from Darlene. Figured the extra cash might help.” I bit my lip nervously as the lie slipped out. I didn’t have the heart to tell Daddy that I just couldn’t go back to that church. I’d lost the passion I once felt going with him every Sunday. As I got older and listened to the people who sat around me in the pews, I realized that most of them were hypocrites. They would damn one thing and then go and do it the very next day.

And if they didn’t do that, then they would spout so much hate that I would have to plug my ears while they spoke. I guess when I was younger I didn’t realize what they were saying. But then I grew up and things became quite clear that I didn’t agree with any of those people. Ignorance truly is bliss, I suppose. Once I got old enough, I started going less and less, until I finally moved out and stopped going altogether. It wasn’t that I had completely lost my faith, but I just couldn’t believe that there was a God out there who stood by anything that those people claimed.

The only thing I truly missed was the choir. Singing always gave me such happiness and when I was younger, that was when I felt closest to God. It didn’t feel quite the same as I matured, but singing still made me feel something that I couldn’t get from anything else.

Daddy sighed as he finished the last of his broccoli. “I wish you’d come back Bethy. I miss having you by my side in that pew.” I didn’t know what to say so I kept my gaze on my sneakers and kept my lips zipped shut. Finally he said, “Alright. Hand me the phone and I’ll make a call.”

I gave him a small smile and hopped up to go grab the house phone. I placed it in his empty hand and watched as he held the phone an arm’s length away so he could see the buttons as he dialed. I felt a little too antsy to sit back down so I just stood next to him and slowly rocked back and forth on my feet, biting at a hangnail nervously. After he punched the number in, he brought the phone to his ear and waited. “Kyle, It’s Hershel Greene. How ya doin?” he spoke into the receiver.

He settled into a congenial chat with Kyle, who I figured must be Kyle McClain, the owner of the garage out on route 29. Their chat went on for another five minutes before I got fed up with waiting and grabbed his empty food container to take to the kitchen. After I deposited everything in the trash, I looked around the room. Daddy had left dirty dishes all along the counter and another pang of guilt ate at me. I was always the one who kept the house in good shape and with me not living here, things like dishes hardly ever got done.

I quickly started rinsing plates and bowls off in the sink and loaded them into the dishwasher. It didn’t take long and I was walking back into the living room only a few minutes later. Thankfully, Daddy was finishing up his conversation. “Alright, Kyle. Thank you again. See you Sunday.” He hung up his phone and handed it to me to put back on the charging stand.

He was quiet for a minute and when I sat back down on the couch, I thought my head was going to explode in anticipation. He gave me one of his classic amused looks; it said he was going to torture me just a little bit longer, just because he could. Finally, I huffed out a breath and practically shouted, “Well?!”

He chuckled with an amused twinkle in his eye. “He said sure. He’s been looking for an extra mechanic for awhile. He said to send him over the day after tomorrow and he’ll figure something out.”

I jumped off the couch and wrapped my arms around his neck, giving him a tight squeeze. “Thank you, Daddy!” He laughed again and squeezed me back. His bright, white beard tickled my face as I pulled away. “Well, I told Rick I’d be home early, so is there anything I need to do before I go?”

He grabbed my hand and gave it a tight squeeze as he contemplated. Then he looked up at me and our eyes met. “Please, Bethy. Think about coming back to church with me. It ain’t the same without ya, honey.”

I sighed slowly and squeezed his hand back. “I won’t make any promises. But I’ll think about it.”

“That’s all I ask,” he said solemnly. We hugged one more time and I thanked him again before I walked out the same way I came in. The Saturn cranked without any problems and a smile spread across my face. This day kept getting better and better.

I pulled into my own house only a few minutes later. My father couldn’t complain too much when I moved out because I only went about five miles down the road. I parked my car next to Rick’s small pickup truck in front of the garage. I looked forward to the day I could park my car actually in the garage, but Rick hadn’t gotten around to fixing things up yet and it was still scattered with random boxes and tools that he hadn’t bothered to put away. I didn’t really mind though, at least most days.

As I got out of my car, it steadily started to rain again and I dashed inside our old house. It was built in the 50s and Rick called it a fixer-upper. He had bought it a few years ago and when we got serious, I decided to move in with him since he had tons of extra space. But while he had gotten this house for a steal, some of the problems we had to fix ended up being quite costly which is why money was always so tight. We were still trying to get back on our feet after having to replace the roof a couple months ago.

I dropped my bag on the bench by the door and shrugged out of my damp jacket, hanging it in the coat closet. Our dog, Leah, ran up to me and whined at my legs to be petted. I got down on my knees and gave her a proper greeting with a belly rub. She was a stray mutt that I had found by the diner and when I brought her home, Rick almost told me no. But once he saw how bad a shape she was in, he relented and let me keep her.  After giving Leah a proper hello, I looked around our dim living room and saw no trace of my boyfriend. I listened quietly and heard the steady strum of the upstairs shower echo through the old floors. I ran up the stairs two at a time and walked into our bedroom.

After pulling my shoes and socks off, I leaned around the open doorway that led to our bathroom. Rick was in the shower and the sliding glass door was only slightly foggy. He was slowly rinsing the shampoo from his hair and water was steadily streaming down his lean frame.

He looked even more delicious than he had this morning and I let my eyes wash over him for a second. His brown curls were plastered to his head under the spray of the water and he leaned his head back with his eyes closed. My gaze traveled lower and I licked my lips at the sight of his lightly muscular frame made up of pale skin and a smattering of dark chest hair.

He turned around and put his face under the water and I caught a glimpse of his beautiful, tight ass. I smiled and started to unbutton the waitress uniform I still wore from the diner. I tossed the dress into the hamper and quickly unhooked my plain cotton bra. I didn’t have too much up top, so I generally didn’t go overboard in the brazier department. I slipped my undies off and pulled my hair from its elastic band.

I walked into the bathroom and slid the shower door open. Rick heard me step in and he turned to face me with a salacious smile. “I was wondering if you were gonna come in.”

“Oh hush. There’s no way you knew I was standing there watching,” I said indignantly as I wrapped my arms around his neck. His wet body connected with mine and I felt the need to get just as wet as him. I rotated our bodies so I was under the water and he ran his hands through my long, blond curls until they were heavy with water.

“When you gonna learn that I see everything?” he asked before he placed a kiss on my neck.

“You wish…” I mumbled and then sighed as I leaned into his kiss. He switched to the other side and continued with his expedition along my neck. I leaned my head down and dipped my tongue into his ear and gave the lobe a quick bite. He chuckled and brought his face up to mine.

“Naughty girl…” he whispered and his hands went from my waist down to my ass and he gave it a good squeeze.

“I’m your naughty girl,” and I gave him the best sexy smile I could manage. It worked because I could feel something growing down at my hip. I caught his mouth with mine and he pushed me against the shower wall as he brought our bodies even closer.

His kiss was hot and messy. My mouth parted immediately to grant his rough tongue access. I sank my hands into his wet hair and gave it a light tug; he always liked it just a little rough. I felt him smile against me and I took the chance to give his lower lip a good nibble. He groaned and pressed his hips into me, rubbing his now fully erect cock into my hip.

I took my right hand and ran it from his head, down his neck, across his chest and stomach, until it finally made contact with the firm flesh that I was looking for. I brushed my fingers across the rounded head of his stiff length and felt the shiver that went through his body. I loved to tease him but the way he was kissing me told me that he wasn’t in any mood for it. So I gripped him at the base, my petite hand only just barely able to wrap around his thickness, and started to stroke him.

He ceased his kissing for a moment as he leaned his forehead against mine and closed his eyes to enjoy the caresses of my hand. He let a soft moan pass his lips and I smiled as the sound reached my ears. I loved it when I could get him to make noise; it let me know when I was doing a good job. His hands still on my ass, he gave me another squeeze and then brought one hand around to my front. He dipped his hand between my thighs and ran a finger along my slippery, wet slit.

Now I was the one that shivered in pleasure as I brought our lips back together. While I continued to stroke him, he used two fingers to separate my lower lips and rubbed his fingertips in soft circles against my clit. An amazing sensation radiated from the center of my body and I used the hand that was still in his hair to pull his head back. It broke our kiss but I lowered my head to his neck and gave the tender flesh several small bites.

He then backed his hips away from my hand and pulled his own from between my legs. I brought my head away from his neck, sensing that he wanted to change things up. He put his hands on the back of my thighs and in one fail swoop, lifted me up and planted me against the shower wall. I laughed as he tried to figure out the balancing act. I held onto his shoulders for dear life and he briefly chuckled with me.

Finally, he seemed to get things figured out and I felt the head of hard cock pressed against me. Since he was holding onto my legs, I reached a hand down between us and slowly spread myself and guided him to my entrance. He brought his hips upward and he pushed right into me. I threw my head back and groaned as he filled me inch by inch. The feeling of fullness was amazing and it always felt so right when we were together.

Sex had never felt this good until I met Rick, which was probably why we had it so much. I couldn’t ever get enough of him. He started to work his hips up and down, slowly pulling out and pushing back into me. He leaned his head into my neck and gave me a few small kisses and bites as he set his pace. We both started to pant and I ran my hands up and down the parts of his back that I could reach, occasionally leaning down and playing with his ear more.

He started to thrust harder and faster and I leaned my head back against the shower wall as I felt the amazing pressure building inside of me. Between each breath I took, a moan would escape and I gripped Rick’s shoulders tight. Before I could reach my peak, I heard Rick groan loudly into my neck and his grip tightened on my thighs, letting me know that he had reached that moment before me. He continued to thrust for a few more seconds before he pulled out and gently slid me down until my feet made contact with the shower floor.

He gave me a quick kiss before he turned me towards the shower spray and stood behind me. I smiled as I realized what he was about to do. He grabbed the shower head that was detachable and pulled it down. Once he switched the settings to a stronger, more direct spray, he brought his left hand down to where my thighs met and spread my lower lips to expose my sensitive clit. He used his right hand to control the direction of the shower spray and pointed it right at my swollen nub.

I gripped his arms tight as the strong spray made direct contact and I leaned my head back onto his shoulder. He leaned in and kissed my neck and whispered into my ear, “Feel good, baby? That how you like it?”

I groaned and a slow smile spread across my face as I nodded. He knew this was one of my favorite ways to get myself off and he would occasionally watch me do it. I was too caught up in the pleasure I was feeling to form coherent words so I just babbled various things that sounded like yes as I felt my orgasm rapidly approaching. Only a few seconds later, the pulse of the water sent me right over the edge and my body practically doubled over from the pleasure.

I pushed the showerhead away as the pressure became too much and Rick used his hand to continue rubbing my clit as the orgasm wracked my body. Once the pleasure passed, I put a hand on top of his and he slowly stopped rubbing. He pulled his hand away and put the showerhead back in its rightful place. Then he wrapped me up in his arms and we embraced under the water while my heart returned to a normal beat.

A minute later the water started to turn cold and I mentally added a new hot water heater to the long list of things that we desperately needed. Rick shivered at the cold and said, “Surprised it lasted that long,” as he turned the knobs off. I slid the glass door open and grabbed our towels hanging on the wall. We dried off quickly and went to the bedroom to put on some comfy clothes. I threw on a tank top and flannel shorts while Rick put on just a t-shirt and some boxers.

I walked back into the bathroom and grabbed my wide toothed comb. A brush never made its way through my hair and came back out alive so combs were always a necessity. I walked back into the bedroom where Rick was sitting on the end of the bed, flipping through the TV. We had the most basic of channels so he didn’t have too much to choose from.

I sat down on the lowered bench we placed at the foot of the bed and Rick scooted up behind me, placing his legs on either side of me. I handed the comb to him and he slowly started to work through my long, curly tresses. Sometimes I hated this hair, but when Rick combed the mess for me, it felt like heaven and made the upkeep worth it.

“How was your dad?” he asked as he rid my head of tangles.

“Fine, I guess. Same as always,” I sighed.

“Let me guess. He asked you to come back home?”  

“Not so much ask, but he did give me a gentle reminder that my room was always gonna be there for me. Asked how we were doing. Asked me to go back to church. Even mentioned Jimmy once.” Rick bit back a laugh at the mention of my ex-boyfriend.

I had dated Jimmy all throughout high school. We had known each other our entire lives and everyone said we were destined to be together. I had even lost my virginity to him, something he felt incredibly guilty about doing. But I never saw sex as something that you should be ashamed of and Jimmy disagreed. By the time we had graduated, we had broken up and gotten back together more times than I could count. Jimmy started on the path to becoming a man of God while I was starting to pull away from the church more and more. While I wasn’t quite sure where I wanted to go with my life, I knew it wasn’t going to be spent as a pastor’s wife.

When I turned 20, I started working at the diner and one day Rick came in with his partner and sat in my section. He was older but he was so handsome and he genuinely made me smile, something Jimmy had stop doing a long time ago. I could tell Rick was a little apprehensive about me being so young, but eventually I wore him down enough to take me on a date and the chemistry we had was practically explosive.

Rick was sweet and caring, but he knew how to command attention when he needed it. He told me he liked my big heart and sweet smile. The first time we kissed, I thought I had been set on fire. I had never felt anything the way I did the first time I was with Rick. He knew how to pleasure me in a way Jimmy never had and I was brought to tears the first time he gave me an orgasm.

Within a few months, I was head over heels and sneaking out at night to come stay at the house with Rick. Daddy was weary from the get go, seeing as Rick was a good bit older than me, but he could tell that Rick was a good man and that he always meant well. Even so, he didn’t warm to him until Sampson had given Rick his seal of approval, meaning a good lick on the face. Daddy always said that you could trust the judgment of animals and he stuck by that rule.

It almost broke Daddy’s heart when I moved out to live with Rick, mainly because we weren’t married and he said he didn’t want me living in sin. But we talked for a long time and finally he gave me his blessing to go. I was practically staying at Rick’s every night anyways and when Rick broached the subject of living together, I didn’t even hesitate to agree. Even though money was tight and we struggled occasionally, I was still happy with every decision I’d made. Rick was an amazing man and I felt incredibly lucky to be with him.

“Oh! He did find a job for Daryl though,” I added as I remembered the phone conversation Daddy had had with Kyle McClain. “At McClain’s garage,” I said with a smile.

“That’s good. So what’s got you so worked up about helping this guy out? How well do you know him?” Rick asked curiously.

“Not that well. He’s come into the diner for the past couple days. Only orders coffee and basically pays in spare change. Saw him looking at the want ads today. Figured he needed some help. Everyone gets down on their luck sometimes,” I shrugged. The truth is I didn’t know why I wanted to help this Daryl guy so much. But something about him really got to me, and I could never stand by and watch someone struggle. It just wasn’t my nature.

“Ah, okay. I think someone just needed a new project to work on,” he teased with a hint of laughter to his voice. I scoffed at him and turned my head to give his knee a bite.

“Oh please! There’s plenty of projects to do around here. Like that one!” I exclaimed and pointed out the bedroom window that overlooked the spare room over the separated garage. The garage was added years after the house and whoever built it had put a room above it, one it was never really completed. The walls needed paint and the floors were still plain plywood that had never been covered with carpet. The garage was supposed to be the first project Rick was going to tackle when he moved in, but he somehow never got around to it.

“Hey! That’s not going anywhere. There’s no rush to finish it,” my boyfriend said defensively.

“If you’re never going to finish it, we might as well tear it down and I can have an actual view outside of my bedroom window,” I said with a huff and I crossed my arms. “The paint cans have been sitting there for months. Think it’ll ever get done?”

“One day,” he chuckled. “Maybe I just need the right motivation.” He pulled the comb through my hair one last time, checking for any leftover knots, and once he found none he handed me the comb and I put it back in the bathroom. I felt my stomach growl and I realized just how hungry I was. I hadn’t really eaten today besides the occasional snack from the kitchen at work.  As I walked back to the bed, I grabbed Rick’s hand and tugged him towards the door.

“Where we going?” he whined.

“To the kitchen. I’m starving!” With that, he relented and we ran downstairs to fill our empty bellies.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke the next morning to the loud whining of my alarm clock and I turned over in bed and slammed my hand on top of it. My tired eyes slowly opened and made out the time that was displayed in bright red numbers. It was 5 A.M. and I groaned because I was definitely not ready for this day to start.

Rick rolled over, wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in tight next to him. A ghost of a smile brushed against my neck and I reached an arm behind me and brushed a hand through his messy hair. “Don’t go,” he whispered in his groggy morning voice.

I huffed out a quick laugh and slowly started to extract myself from his embrace. If I didn’t break away from him now, then I would definitely end up late to the diner. I don’t think saying I got wrapped up in the sheets with my man was an acceptable excuse, at least not to my manager.

Rick gave me his best pout from the bed and I tossed my pillow at him. He laughed and rolled over to go back to sleep. It was slightly chilly so I grabbed my long sweater and threw it on as I walked out of the bedroom. Leah, who had made her way to the foot of our bed in the night, jumped down off the bench and followed me downstairs. I started our coffeepot and opened the backdoor to let her outside.

Some days I hated these early shifts, but they really did go by a lot quicker than when you closed. Nothing was more boring than being in an empty diner until nine o’clock at night. After I enjoyed my first cup of coffee and let Leah inside, I went back upstairs and got ready for work. I put on my uniform, I had three of them that I alternated between washes, and put my hair in a ponytail.

It was such a hassle to leave it down at work when I was running around trying clean and help customers, so it always ended up pulled back. Once I had put on my socks and sneakers, it was just about time to head out. Rick was still sound asleep in the bed and I pulled the covers back slightly and slipped my hands around his waist and gave his ribs a little tickle.

His head popped up and a light gasp flew from his mouth as he tried to push my hands away. “Dammit woman! Cold hands!” he practically yelled. But instead of being mad, he gave me a sleepy smile and grabbed my arms to pull me back into bed. He yanked me on top of him and wrapped his arms around my thin frame, squeezing me tight to his warm body. I laughed and tried to wiggle free but he was always way too strong to fight against.

“Let me go baby! I gotta get to work!” I practically begged.

He laughed at me and finally let his arms go slack. I rose up on my arms and gave him a quick goodbye kiss. “Alright. Go make that money,” he said with a quick slap to my butt. I gave him a shocked expression and gave his chest a light smack. He smiled and I couldn’t help but hate having to leave this man. What I wouldn’t give to be able to lay in this warm bed and make love to him all morning long. It was almost like he could read my thoughts because he ran a hand against my cheek and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll be here when you get home. I love you.”

His words gave me some relief and I sighed as I climbed off the bed.  “I love you too,” I called to him and walked down the steps and out the front door. The morning was still slightly chilly as I climbed into the car. I had to turn the key a few times before I could get the Saturn to crank, but eventually it roared to life and I pulled out of my driveway. I arrived at the diner just as the sun was peaking across the sky. The rain from yesterday was long gone and the radio said we should get plenty of sunshine today.

I parked around back and walked in the back door, holding my breath as I passed the full garbage cans that hadn’t been emptied yet. As I walked through the kitchen, I heard the radio going and waved to Ricardo, the cook who worked all the morning shifts. He was dancing a little as the music buzzed throughout the back of the diner.

When he saw me, he called out “Hola muchacha! Come dance with me! It’ll wake you up!” He waved me over but I just laughed and rolled my eyes at him.

“You know I’m not much of a dancer, Ricardo.” I walked through the kitchen door, out to the front of the restaurant and slipped behind the counter, planting my purse and sweater under the sink.

“Oh that’s right. You my little songbird,” he called through the order window. “Sing me something, sweetie!” I heard the radio turn down in the kitchen and when I turned around he was leaning against the window and watching me.

“Oh gosh! Sing you something?” I asked, feeling caught off guard. “Sing you what?”

“Oh girl! I don’t know. I ‘d say sing me some Cher, but I don’t think anyone could handle the queen!” and he gave me his best Cher impression. It was pretty good and soon we were both laughing. “Come on, honey. Sing me something sweet. Do a song you use to sing in church.”

Ricardo knew me too well, we’d been working together for two years now, and he knew church songs were always the easiest for me to sing on the spot. I thought for a second about what to go with and eventually started the first line of “His Lasting Love.” Ricardo smiled as he listened and then went back to prepping the kitchen. I kept singing as I counted the register and readied the restaurant for the day.

By the time I had finished, it was time to open and Ricardo clapped and cheered for me from the kitchen before he turned his radio back up. I unlocked the front doors and within a few minutes, I had a couple people come in for their morning coffee.

The day went by at a steady pace. The good weather helped and I had made some pretty decent tips by the time Darlene came in at the mid-morning break. We chatted for a minute before it started to pick up and we had to get to work. I noticed that by noon I hadn’t seen a particular face that I had been waiting for.

When I looked across the street, I saw the motorcycle was still in the same parking spot it had been in for days. I also saw Mr. Marcus, the owner of the motel, walking away from the door that the motorcycle was sitting in front of. My curiosity was practically killing me, so I had Ricardo make me a small breakfast plate to-go. When it was ready, I grabbed the bag and told Darlene I was taking a quick break. She gave me the go ahead and I quickly made my way across the busy road.

Butterflies were flitting around my stomach as I approached the motel door with 8A on it in shiny gold letters. There was a DO NOT DISTURB sign posted on the door handle and I almost hesitated before I balled up all the courage I had and knocked. I heard some movement from inside the room and a voice started talking loudly on the other side. “I said I’d have the rest in a day or…” The voice trailed off as Daryl whipped open the door and saw me standing there.

“Uh…hi!” I said in my over the top cheerful voice with a half-smile.

“Oh…hey,” he replied. He stood in the doorway, blocking my view of inside the room. I assumed it was so I couldn’t see the mess behind him. He was still wearing the same outfit, but without the vest, and his hair was a little disheveled.

“I…um…I brought you this,” and I handed him the white plastic bag in my hand with the food in it. “It’s just some eggs and bacon. I didn’t see you at the diner today so I figured I’d come by…to check on you, I guess.”

“How’d you know I was here?”

“Oh, well I’ve seen you walk across the street and you’re the only one staying in the motel right now. Figured you’d park in front of your room,” and I turned and gestured towards the bike a few feet away.

“Oh…thanks, I guess.” He looked really uncomfortable right now and I felt kind of bad for putting him on the spot like this.

“That’s not the only reason I came by,” I said hurriedly. “I talked to someone and McClain’s Garage needs a mechanic. Kyle McClain said for you to come by tomorrow and y’all could work something out.”

His face changed at the mention of a job and I couldn’t really read what he was thinking. A mixture of gratitude and confliction was the most I could get from it. “Oh…okay. Where’s that at?” he asked.

“Oh! Yea, you might need to know that,” I laughed nervously. “If you head right out of here and go for about five miles, you’ll see the sign for route 29. Head east on 29 and drive for about 10 miles. It’ll be on your left, just after Kayro’s gas station. The one with the big cow on top of it.”

He nodded slowly as he took in my directions. “Okay,” was all he said in response.

“Well, I don’t think they open until nine so I guess be there at ten,” and I shrugged. Suddenly I felt like a really stupid girl for some reason and I wasn’t even sure why I was here. “Uh…I’m sorry if I’m overstepping any boundaries or something. I guess it was kinda stupid of me to do this…” I stuttered and turned to go.

Suddenly I felt a hand gently placed on my arm and I turned to look back at this mysterious man who I couldn’t stop wanting to help. “Nah…it ain’t stupid,” he said. His blue eyes showed his sincerity and I held my breath as he spoke. “I jus’…I ain’t had no one be this nice to me in a long time. Not for no reason…”

“Well…if you need anything else. Just let me know,” I mumbled as I looked away. For some reason, I couldn’t maintain eye contact with him and that kind of made me nervous. He let go of my arm and I turned to walk away.

“Thank you,” he called out and I turned back around one more time as my feet hit the asphalt of the parking lot.

“Sure. Anytime. I…I’ll be working the afternoon shift tomorrow, so come by and let me know how it goes.” He nodded and ran a hand through his dark, shaggy hair. I turned around and made my way across the street, back into the diner, only looking back once the door closed behind me. My arm still tingled in the spot where his hand had touched me and I tried to shake the feeling away.

As I walked behind the counter, Darlene gave me a sly look. “Where you been, miss thang?” she asked, swatting me with a dishtowel.  

“Nowhere. Did I miss anything?” I asked, trying to shift the subject from me.

“Nah…So what was across the street at the motel? Hmmm?” she asked me as she scooted closer, nudging me with her elbow.

“Nothing, Darlene. Jeez. Why you always gotta be so nosey?”

“Well fine. I was just asking, miss crabby.” She walked away to go check on a table and now I felt bad. Darlene always meant well and I was mean to her for no reason. She spent the rest of my shift ignoring me which only made me feel worse. Once it was time for me to leave, I grabbed my purse and sweater and stopped next to her on my way to the back door.

“Hey, Darlene. I’m heading out. I’m sorry about snapping at you earlier. Just got some stuff on my mind is all.” I tried to sound as apologetic as possible. Darlene was the only thing that really kept me sane at this godforsaken job and I couldn’t leave without making things right.

She gave me a soft smile and pulled me in for a hug. Her red hair smelled flowery today and it made me smile. “Oh, it’s okay sugar. You know I’m always here to talk if you need anything,” she assured me.

“I know. See you tomorrow?” I asked as we broke apart.

“Oh, you know it. Have a good night sweetie. Tell Rick I said hey.”

“I will. Night!” I called as I stepped out the back door and climbed into my car. It took a couple minutes to start, but it cranked eventually, and I made it home about twenty minutes later.

As I pulled up to the house, I noticed that all the windows were open in the room above the garage. When I stepped out, I heard a radio playing and I walked in the open garage and up the steps. When I got to the top, I saw Rick had put plastic down and had brushes and rollers and few empty paint cans scattering the floor. All the walls had a fresh coat of white paint and Rick was using a small paintbrush to finish some edges.

“You painted!” I cried out, a big grin spread across my face.

He looked up from where he was crouched and smiled at me. “Yea, I figured I might as well get some of this done. And I talked to Evan Wilson today at the hardware store. He said he had some leftover carpet from a job he did last week. Said he’d sell it for cheap.”

“Oh! What’s it look like?” I asked excitedly.

“I don’t know. Like carpet, I guess. Doesn’t have to be anything too nice. This is just gonna be a spare room anyways.”

I sighed. “That is such a guy thing to say. I want it to look at least a little bit nice in here. Who knows what we’ll do with this space, but we might as well do it right, ya know?” I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his paint splattered t-shirt.

“Yea, yea, yea,” he said and he faked like he was going to take the paintbrush to me. I quickly swatted his arm away and giggled.

“Do you even know how to put in carpet?” I asked into his back.

“Well…not really. But it can’t be that hard. Lay down some carpet and put some nails in it,” he shrugged.

I laughed at his response and tickled his sides a little before I stood back up. “Well, hopefully it won’t take as long to put that carpet in as it did to paint this place. When can you get it?” I walked back to the stairs and waited at the top step.

“Uh…probably tomorrow, I guess. But I’m not making any promises about putting it in that quick,” and he eyed me ruefully.

I held up my hands in defeat. “Fine, fine, fine. I’m gonna go change and start dinner. You wash up when you finish and meet me in the kitchen.” He nodded at me and I walked down the steps and headed into the house. As I sat my bag down, Leah pawed at my legs and begged for some affection.

“Well, hey there. Did you miss me? Did you? Was Daddy good to you today? Huh?” I smiled as she panted and automatically rolled onto her back, waiting for a belly rub. I happily obliged and we played for a minute before I headed upstairs to change.

I peeled off my stained uniform and threw on some yoga pants and a t-shirt. After grabbing the laundry basket, I made my way back downstairs and headed for the kitchen. I put a load into the washer and started on dinner. Tonight was spaghetti night, one of Rick’s favorites. While I was cooking, I heard the front door open and feet clomp up the stairs. Then I heard the shower come on and a few minutes later, Rick entered the kitchen in a much cleaner state than before.

Once everything was ready, we moved to the couch and ate our dinner in front of the TV. “So how was your day?” Rick asked between bites. “Busy?”

“It was steady. Made about thirty bucks in tips. So not too shabby,” I replied as I slurped up a bite of noodles.

“That’s good. So did you tell your Daryl friend the good news?” he asked as he absentmindedly rubbed my knee, eyes on the TV.

I nodded as I swallowed my last bite. “I did,” was all I could really think to say.

“And? Was he happy? Grateful? Mad? Anything?”

I smiled at the questions and thought for a moment as I scraped the bottom on my bowl. “I don’t really know,” I shrugged. “He seemed…confused or wary. Like he didn’t believe me. He said no one’s been this nice to him for no reason.”

Rick nodded at my reply and threw an arm around my shoulder, giving me a half hug. “Well, not everyone is as nice as you baby. It catches some people off guard. You just gotta roll with it and keep doing your thing. You know I love your big heart.” He smiled at me and ran a hand through my loose hair.

Rick’s words made me relieved and I felt slightly better about what had happened earlier today. Sometimes I worried that I went too far to help others, but Rick was always there to cheer me on and that always made things worth it. I gave him a quick kiss and then handed him my empty bowl. “I cooked, that means you got dishes.”

He laughed at me and took the bowl. “Alright, alright.”

“And don’t just sit them in the sink. There’s a dishwasher in there for a reason!” I called to the kitchen. After living with someone, you really learned their habits. And Rick was relentless about leaving dishes in the sink, something that drove me close to madness.

Once he came back to the couch, I leaned against him and he wrapped his arms around me as we watched TV. It was some cop show and it was pretty bad. But Rick always likes to watch this stuff so he could talk to his partner and bitch about everything that was wrong with it. After about ten minutes, I felt pretty bored. In fact, I felt bored a lot lately. If we weren’t at work, we were at home doing basically nothing.

TV got old to me after awhile. My family didn’t watch television when I was growing up so we had to find other ways to amuse ourselves. We spent a lot of time with animals and doing things outside. Rick wasn’t necessarily an outdoorsman so if we did go out, it was usually to have a beer or something. I could tell once we moved in together that he was a bit of a homebody, which could certainly be nice, but I found it a little tiring sometimes. Every so often I had to beg him to take me out.

I figured that our differences in age had a lot to do with that as well. I tried to make sure that we compromised most of the time. Most weeknights we’d stay at home, and on the weekends, if I wasn’t working, he’d always make sure to take me out at least once. I started to fidget on the sofa and finally got bored enough to get up and do something else.

“Hey. Where you going?” he asked.

“I think I’m gonna go fiddle around with my guitar baby. This TV is just too boring tonight.” I gave him a small smile to let him know that I was okay and then I went upstairs. I kept my guitar in the spare room next to ours. I’d usually sit by the window that overlooked the other side of our property while I played. But I didn’t feel like sitting inside tonight, so I grabbed the guitar and headed back downstairs. I stepped out the front door and sat down on the porch swing and watched as the sun slowly set.

I played a few tunes that I already knew and then started on one that I still trying to get the hang of. I hummed along for awhile, until I finally felt okay with it and then I started to sing the melody. A few minutes later I heard the screen door open and Rick walked out and sat down next to me on the swing. He loved to hear me sing, he always told me so, and he smiled softly as we rocked back and forth and I sang my song.

Once I finished, he gave me a little clap and I laughed at his silliness. “That was beautiful, baby,” he said as he ran a hand through my hair.

“Why, thank you, kind sir,” I said in a funny voice and gave him an exaggerated wink. He threw his head back and chuckled. I loved to see him smile and hear his laugh; it always made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Once he finished his chuckle, his face turned back to a serious demeanor. “I’m sorry if I ran you out of the living room with that show.” He grabbed my hand and squeezed tight.

“Aw, you don’t have anything to be sorry about, baby. You know I’m not big on TV that much anyways.” I tried to keep my voice reassuring. I hated for Rick to feel bad about something as silly as TV.

“Yea, I know,” and he sighed. “Hey, how about this weekend, since you’re off, we go fishing?”

“Yea! That’ll be fun!” Now I was excited. I loved to fish, mainly because it was fun but also because Rick was awful at it and I always got the better catch than him. “Saturday or Sunday?”

“Either one. I’ll let you decide.”

“Okay, but no whining this time when I catch the best fish.” He scoffed at me and pulled the guitar out of my arms. He sat it a few feet away, resting on the side of the house. Then he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in close. The smell of his shampoo filled my nose and I sighed as I relaxed into his embrace.

He gently lowered his mouth onto mine and started to work sweet kisses into my lips. He mouth was soft and warm and it fit perfectly against mine. I loved his full, pink lips and how gentle but firm they could be. With one arm on my back, he brought his left hand up and stroked my cheek. Sometimes he was so tender with me that it made me ache.

He slowly parted his lips, inviting me in and I pushed my tongue past my own mouth and into his. The tip of his tongue brushed against mine and he tasted a little sweet. I opened my mouth a little further and this time he pushed his tongue past my lips and lapped at mine. We went back and forth like that for a minute and I felt his grip on my body steadily tightening, showing me just how much he wanted me.

My hands had been sitting limp in my lap and finally I raised my arms and wrapped them around his waist, pulling us even closer than before. I slipped a hand under his shirt and brushed my fingers along his bare flesh. He dropped his hand from my face and slipped it underneath my own shirt. His rough fingers ran up my stomach until they reached my breasts.

I hadn’t bothered to put a bra on under the t-shirt so he grazed his hands across my nipples, back and forth, until they hardened beneath his touch. Then he pulled my shirt up to my chest, exposing my small but perky breasts. He lowered his head and popped one of my light pink nipples in his mouth and gave a small suck. I groaned in a low voice and looked down to watch him.

He let that one go and switched to the other side. As he sucked and gave it small nibbles, he lowered his hand to where my thighs met and started to rub me over my yoga pants. I bit my lip and sighed at how good it felt. But soon I got too worked up and stroking over the pants wasn’t quite enough. I tried to move my hips against his hand and he smiled around my nipple as he realized that I wanted more.

He let my breast drop from his mouth and scooted off the porch to kneel in front of me. He had a sexy smile set on his lips and I grinned back at him in anticipation. He brought his hands to my hips and grabbed the waistband of my pants. Gently sliding them down, I lifted my hips to help ease the way, and he pulled the pants, along with my panties, off and sat them on the swing next to me.

He rested his hands on my hips and then slid them down my thighs and stopped at my knees. He gave each knee a kiss and then slowly nudged them apart with his nose. I couldn’t help but laugh at him and he just ignored me as he slowly worked kisses up the inside of my thighs. Finally he made his way to my center, which was already slightly damp in anticipation.

He took his whole tongue and lapped at the outside of my lips and I groaned at the tease. He did it one more time with an evil twinkle to his eye before I gave him a small smack on his hand. He chuckled quickly before he took both of his hands and spread me open. He almost groaned at what he saw. “Damn baby. You have the prettiest pussy I’ve ever seen.”

I felt a blush work its way from my toes all the way to my head and I used my hands to cover my red face. He laughed at my reaction but quickly plunged his tongue between my legs and I almost gasped at the sudden change in sensations. He licked from my clit to my pussy and darted his tongue inside of me, making me writhe on the porch swing. I straightened my right leg and braced it against the railing to keep the swing from moving too much.

He moved his tongue back to my clit and worked it in small circles. Then he changed his pace and lapped his rough tongue against the sensitive bud and I started to pant in pleasure. He pulled his head back momentarily and stuck two fingers into his mouth and I braced myself to ready for his next move. After his fingers were wet, he brought one down to my entrance and slowly slipped it in.

I let out the breath I had been holding and a small moan escaped my lips. He worked the finger back and forth for a second before slowly slipping the second one in. Then he turned his hand and brought the fingers upward and slowly started to work them inside of me. Within seconds, he’d found the perfect spot and I started to pant hard as the pleasure built within me.

He brought his mouth back down to my sweet, sensitive clit and continued to thrust his fingers inside of me. His pace increased and he feverishly worked his fingers into me while he flicked his tongue, and I felt my orgasm rapidly building. I started to moan uncontrollably and my grip tightened on the worn wood beneath me. “Oh baby…Don’t stop…Oh fuck, I’m coming,” I cried out.

And I was pushed over the edge as my orgasm washed over me. My back arched off the swing and I grabbed Rick’s head and pushed him even harder between my legs. My right leg slipped off the railing, causing the swing to start moving again but I didn’t care as long as Rick kept going. My thighs gripped his head and didn’t let go until my pleasure slowly started to fade. I gently released him and he pulled back and put a hand on the swing to stop its rapid motions.

He wiped a hand across his face and smiled at my post-orgasm state. I was slumped against the wooden swing and my legs had completely lost all their strength as they drooped to the floor of the porch. My eyes were half open and I was still catching my breath. “Damn baby. I didn’t think you were ever gonna let go,” he joked.

I waved his teasing off, my mind a complete blur of unadulterated bliss. Then he stood up and grabbed my yoga pants and sat them in my lap. He put an arm behind my back and then another under my knees and picked me up in one big sweeping motion. I threw an arm behind his neck and smiled dreamily up at him. Sometimes, he really was my knight in shining armor.

He walked me inside and up the stairs, all the way to the bedroom and placed me on the bed. He tossed my yoga pants to the floor and yanked my shirt off the rest of the way. Then he pulled his own clothes off and crawled in with me, covering us both up. I turned on my side and he cuddled up behind me. While there was a very distinct shape poking into my back, he didn’t push me for anything. I was glad for that because the orgasm he just gave me took all the energy I had. Within minutes I was dozing off wrapped in my man’s arms.


	4. Chapter 4

I woke the next morning just after 6:30 and sighed because I felt wide awake and knew there was no going back to sleep. That was another bad thing about early shifts, my body’s time clock could never get adjusted. So I always woke early, even if I had to close the diner that night.

I turned over and saw Rick had kicked off most his covers and laid sprawled out on his back, arms thrown over his head. He always looked so peaceful when he slept, but my mind was really on how good he looked laying there completely naked. He had a morning erection sticking straight up from his hips and I bit my lip as I thought about how to take advantage of this situation.

First, I decided that I needed to pee so I slid off the bed, trying to minimize any movement that could wake him, and I walked to the bathroom to quickly relieve myself. Once I was done, I walked back to the bed and slid back in just as gently as I had gotten out. Rick moved his head slightly as I scooted in close to him. I reached my hand down and wrapped my fingers around his stiff length. His velvety smooth skin felt warm in my hands and I started to softly stroke him from root to tip.

After only three or four strokes, Rick’s breathing changed and he turned his head as he woke up. He blinked his eyes a few times and then looked down at my hand that was currently playing with his manhood. I was lying next to him with my head propped up on my elbow and I watched his face as he registered what was happening.

A sleepy grin spread across his mouth and he looked to my face where I gave him a silly smirk. “Mmm…Why don’t you wake me up like this every morning?” he asked.

“Oh hush,” I quickly replied. I leaned my head down and gave him a brief kiss before I pulled my hand away from his hard cock and sat up. I pulled the covers out of the way so his naked form was completely displayed to me and then crawled on top of him and ran kisses up his stomach and chest until I made contact with his lips.

He brought his arms down and ran his hands up and down my back as I brought my legs to each side of his beautiful body and lined myself up just right. I felt the rounded head of his cock brush against my center and I put my hands on his chest as I raised myself up, so now I was sitting on top of him. His hands left my back and went to my front as he brushed his fingers across my nipples and gave them a slight tweak.

I rocked my hips against his hard cock, teasing him slightly with the friction my wetness provided. He sighed and bit his lip as he pushed his own hips up. “Don’t tease me baby,” he begged from where he lied on the bed. I smiled at his pleading and grabbed one his hands from my breast and put my mouth around his index finger, giving it a light suck and swirling my tongue around. “Oh fuck…” he sighed as he gripped my hip and lifted his pelvis into me one more time.

I let go of his hand and slightly rose up so I could reach a hand down between us and guide the head of his cock to my entrance. Once I had us lined up, I lowered my hips and his stiff length plunged into me. I leaned my head back and sighed as Rick gripped my thighs and let a small moan past his gritted teeth.

I always love the feeling of when he first slips in me and I can feel myself stretch to accommodate his thickness. It was probably one of the best feelings in the world. I leaned down and brought our lips together again as I slowly brought my hips up and back down. He wrapped his arms around me tight and kissed me hard as he brought his hips up to meet mine.

I could tell that he wanted to set the pace, but I wanted to be in charge so I pushed off his chest and when he dropped his arms, I grabbed each wrist and planted them next to his head. He started to chuckle but as I started to work my hips and ride his cock at a steady pace, his mouth went slack and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

I started to rock back and forth on top of him, going faster and faster and my breath started to hitch in my throat every time the head of his cock hit that sweet spot. The pleasure inside of me was building and I knew I needed that little push to send me over the edge. I picked up one of Rick’s hands and guided it to my center and he took the hint. While I continued to ride him, he took his thumb and rubbed circles into my clit. My pleasure immediately intensified and I felt my orgasm fast approaching.

I worked my hips even faster and gripped his shoulders tight as I felt myself reaching my peak. Only a few seconds later, I was tipped over and I cried out as I fell on top of my man and buried my face in his neck. Rick gripped his hand to my thighs and held me as he continued to thrust upward, making my orgasm wrack my body a little longer. A few seconds later, I heard Rick grunt loudly as he squeezed me tight and emptied into me while he continued to pump a few more times until he slowed to a stop.

Afterwards, we laid still while we tried to catch our breath and he ran a hand soothingly across my back and through my hair. “What brought that on?” he asked. I could hear the smile in his voice and I looked up and sure enough, he wore a big grin on his face.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “You took such good care of me last night and when I woke up this morning, you just looked…really good. Couldn’t help myself.”

He chuckled and placed a small kiss on my head. “How’d I get so lucky?”

“Well, that’s a matter of opinion. Not many people would jump at the chance to date a 22 year-old waitress with a soft spot for every poor looking living thing she can find.” I slowly sat up and gave him a wink as I lifted off him and laid down next to him.

“Now see, that’s where you’re wrong,” he assured me. He turned to face me and we tangled our legs together. “While you may be 22, you certainly don’t act like it. And waitressing is just what you do, not who you are. You’ve got plenty of time to figure that out, baby.” He ran a hand across my face as he spoke his sweet words. “And while you do have a soft spot for broken things, animal or human, that’s just because you have such a big heart. You can’t help but care and that’s what makes me love you.”

I sighed once he finished and felt slightly at a loss for words. Things like that were the reasons why I loved this man. “Baby…sometimes I don’t even know what to say to you.” We smiled at each other and I kissed the palm of his hand. “I love you too and you make me so unbelievably happy…about 98.9% of the time,” and we both fell into a fit of giggles.

We cuddled for a few more minutes before Rick had to get ready for work. While he took over the bathroom, I climbed out of bed and threw on my long sweater and headed downstairs. Leah was already there, sitting on the back of an armchair while she watched the birds fly around outside. I walked to the kitchen and as soon as she heard the knob turn on the backdoor, she came running and I let her outside.

Once I got the coffee going, I decided to make some eggs, bacon and toast. We hardly ever got mornings together on the weekdays so I decided to take advantage of it. Once everything was ready, I made the plates and sat them on the table. While I poured us both a cup of coffee, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and when Rick walked into the kitchen, his face immediately brightened. He sat down at the table as I brought the coffee over and we dug in. He groaned in pleasure as he took the first bite of his eggs and I laughed. “Damn baby. Woke me up with sex and then made me breakfast. I think I’m gonna marry you!” he said gleefully between bites.

“Oh? Is that a proposal? Because I think I’ll have to turn you down if you ask me in the same phrase where you talk about sex. Somehow I don’t think that’ll go over well with Daddy when he asks how you did it.” Rick smiled at me and rolled his eyes. The truth was we had never really talked about marriage.

I knew that right now I was way too young to settle down quite like that. We lived together but I was still really determined to be my own person and Rick supported that wholeheartedly. Rick had actually been married before, but his wife divorced him about five years ago when she said she didn’t love him anymore. He ended up moving to Cedarville and becoming a state trooper not long after. He didn’t talk about it much, but I could tell he was still kind of bitter over the whole situation. I don’t know if Rick really ever wanted to get married again.

Once we finished eating, Rick got up and put the dishes in the dishwasher, giving me a wink as he did so. I walked him to the door and gave him his thermos filled with hot coffee, and he wrapped his arms around me and brought me in for a searing hot kiss. It almost took my breath away and when we broke apart, I had to keep myself from melting in his arms.

“Love you baby,” he said as he walked out the door. I held the screen door open and watched him walk to his truck.

“Love you too,” I called to him.

“Oh, I called Evan Wilson this morning. He’s gonna bring that carpet by today. I just told him to sit it in the garage, so leave it open when you leave,” he yelled from the driver seat of his truck.

“Okay,” I shouted back and nodded my head to let him know that I understood. I waved as he backed out the driveway and he waved back before he pulled away. Now that I was alone, I sighed and sat down on the porch swing. A small blush bloomed across my face as I thought about the dirty things we had done last night in this very spot.

Thankfully, our house was pretty far from anyone else, so I never worried about anyone happening upon us. I reached over and grabbed my guitar, which was still where Rick had sat it last night before he rocked my world with his beautiful lips and tongue. I spent the next hour strumming through cords and singing a few songs while Leah sat at my feet and licked at her paws.

After awhile, I went back in the house and sat the guitar back in the spare bedroom. I headed downstairs and fluffed the load of laundry in the dryer, even though I knew that my uniform was going to be wrinkly no matter what. After turning on the radio, I picked up the house and sang along as I worked through each room.

Once I was finished, I checked the clock on the microwave and saw that it was just about time for work. I threw on my uniform and twisted my hair into a bun on top of my head. I tied the laces on my shoes and headed out to the car. The Saturn was nice to me today and cranked without problem, even though the engine sounded a little grumbly. I waved to Leah, who sat by the window watching me, and pulled out of the driveway and headed to the diner.

The diner had a few cars in the parking lot and I prayed that there would be some decent tips today. After parking and walking in the back door, I waved to Ricardo and Raul, who both smiled and waved. Ricardo nodded to the closed office door next to kitchen, letting me know that Lee was in today. I rolled my eyes and he smiled at me but we made sure to keep our mouths zipped shut.

I pushed the kitchen door open and narrowly missed hitting Darlene, who was walking some dirty dishes to the back for Raul. “Oh crap, Darlene! I’m sorry!”

“Oh, it’s good honey. I told Lee we need a window on this door since it swings both ways and we never know who’s on the other side. I doubt it’ll happen, but a gal can dream!” She gave me a big smile that emphasized her bright red lipstick that she wore every day. I grinned back at her and walked behind the counter. Once I put my stuff away, I grabbed an apron and tied it around my waist. Before I even checked the tables though, I glanced across the street and noticed that the motel was missing a motorcycle. I hoped things went good for Daryl today and I hoped he came by this afternoon and told me about it.

Before long, the lunch crowd came in and me and Darlene were pretty busy. Right around two o’clock, things slowed down and it was about time for Darlene to head home. I stood behind the counter, polishing some glasses, and I was lost in thought as I gazed across the street. Something caught my eye then when I saw Mr. Marcus step out of Daryl’s room and drop a white bag right in front of the door. He left it there and walked away, pocketing what I assumed to be the master keycard.

“Whatcha lookin’ at, sweetie?” Darlene asked as she grabbed her bag and jacket from under the counter. She stood up next to me and followed my gaze. “Oh, looks like Marcus kicked another one out.”

“What? What do you mean?” I asked curiously.

“Oh, that’s what he does when someone doesn’t pay their bill. He bags up their shit, sits it outside the door, and changes the keycard so they can’t get back in.”

“But that was Daryl’s room,” I said, unable to control the worry in my voice.

“Daryl? The guy who came here and sat in the back booth for like three days straight? Thought he left. Ain’t seen him a couple days.”

“That’s cuz Daddy found him a job at McClain’s Garage. He started today.” I almost didn’t want to tell Darlene that part, but after yesterday, I figured that she really was a good friend of mine and there was no point in holding back with her.

“Oh, okay. Well hopefully he can work something out with Marcus. But we both know how damn stingy that man can be. I’ve probably gotten ten dollars worth of tips from him in the past year and you know how often he comes by for lunch.” Darlene gave me a look of contempt when she finished, and I knew just what she meant. Mr. Marcus wasn’t the kind of man who took much pity on a person. “Well, I’m heading home sweetie. Hopefully it ain’t too slow this afternoon. Luanne will be here soon.”

“Okay. Have a good night. See you Monday?” I gave her a brief hug as we walked towards the kitchen door.

“Yes ma’am. Have a good weekend!” I waved her off as she walked out of the building and I went back to the counter to finish with the glasses I had started. Unfortunately it did slow down quite a bit, and I didn’t have another customer until about 45 minutes later when none other than Mr. Marcus crossed the street and walked in, sitting at the counter.

“Hi, Mr. Marcus. What can I get you today?” I asked cheerfully.

“Hello. I’d like a cup of coffee and a slice of cherry pie. And I want the pie heated with whip cream on top and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side,” he stated, not even bothering to say please.

“Yes, sir.” I grabbed him the coffee right away and went to get the pie ready. Mr. Marcus was very particular about his pie and I learned that the hard way. He always wanted a fresh slice, not one from an already cut pie. And he could always tell, no matter what I did. And he wanted it heated to just warm, but not warm enough to melt his ice cream. Even after all this special prepping for him, he never tipped more than ten percent. But he was quick to complain to Lee if he didn’t get his way, and Lee always sided with him because they played poker together once a month. Typical men.

Once I had his pie ready, I sat it down on the counter in front of him and he ate it ever so slowly, like he normally did. I started to refill ketchup bottles, but curiosity got the best of me and as I refilled his coffee cup, I asked in the most nonchalant voice I could manage, “So Mr. Marcus, I saw you leaving that room across the street and leaving the bag outside. What happened?”

He sipped his coffee and sighed. “Aw, had some damn ruffian not pay for his room. Had to kick’em to the curb. Can’t be givin’ no free rides. Know what I mean?”

I gave him a brief nod even though I thought that he seemed really heartless for doing so. I knew Daryl didn’t have anywhere to go and I’m sure even if Mr. Marcus knew that, he couldn’t care less. “I can’t imagine someone actually doing that. How much had he not paid?” Again, I tried to maintain a passive face and not seem too interested.

“Three days. That’s almost a hundred damn dollars. I mean I’m not running a free service here. I gotta make a living too. He didn’t have hardly anything in the room anyway. Not even a damn change of clothes. You can be sure he used all the free soap and shampoo though. And dirtied up my nice, white towels too.” He shook his head like his towels were made of gold and couldn’t be washed.

I let out a small sigh as I realized that Daryl really didn’t have any place to go. I had thought that maybe I could help him out with the unpaid motel room, but a hundred dollars was more than I could give right now. My thoughts were troubled once more over this mysterious man that had walked into my diner only a few days ago.

Mr. Marcus finished his pie and I gave him his check. He left me a .50 tip and walked out. I groaned inwardly and was tempted to throw the two quarters at him. He truly must be the cheapest man alive, but I held my tongue and helped the young couple who walked in as he left. A little while later, Luanne came in and gave me a brief nod as she tied her apron on.

Luanne was our night waitress and she wasn’t too nice. She was short and round and had brown hair that almost looked like a football helmet strapped to her head. She did her job but she rarely chatted and was even short with the customers sometimes. Even if they complained to Lee, he never did anything about it because she always did what he said and never talked back to him.

A small dinner rush happened right around five o’clock and me and Luanne took care of everyone without so much as talking to one another. As I gave someone a refill on sweet tea, I heard a motorcycle drive by and my eyes immediately went across the street. Just as I suspected, Daryl was pulling into the same parking spot. He hopped off his bike and walked up to the door that use to be his room. He picked up the bag Mr. Marcus had sat outside his door and looked in it.

Then he pulled something from his back pocket and tried to unlock the door. He must have kept getting a red light because he tried two or three times before he smacked a hand on the door and gave it a kick. He walked over to the office, bag still in hand, and stepped inside. I couldn’t see what happened, but my eyes watched the door closely as I continued giving refills and taking orders.

A few minutes past before I saw Daryl swing the office door open, and as he stepped out he slammed the door shut behind him and spit on the ground in front of it. He stomped over to his bike and leaned against it for a minute as he pulled what looked like a stub of a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. After a few seconds, his head turned in the direction of the diner and I immediately looked away. I wasn’t sure if he could see me or not, but I didn’t want to take any chances of getting caught staring at the man.

I walked around and checked on my tables and after a few minutes, I finally found the courage to look back across the street and saw that the bike was no longer there. I stood by the window for a moment as confusion washed over me. Where would he go? Then I heard the bell ring over the front door, signaling that someone had walked in. When I turned to look, I was taken aback because it was Daryl walking in. I glanced out to the parking lot and saw that he had moved his bike to a spot over here.

“Lookin’ for someone?” he asked as he walked by me and up to the counter, sitting on one of the swiveling stools. I blushed from head to toe as I realized he had seen me looking for him across the street. Butterflies flew around in my stomach and I went behind the counter to put the order I’d just taken on the rotation for the kitchen. Once some of the blood had drained from my face, I turned around sat a coffee cup in front of him and filled it to the brim.

“Thanks,” he mumbled and he took a quick sip of the warm liquid.

“So…how’d it go?” I asked while rolling up some silverware. I had to keep busy while I chatted or else Lee would get on me. Luanne would even give me hell if I stood in one place too long.

“Good, I guess. Gave me a job. Fixing cars and changing oil. Go back tomorrow. Money’s money, ya know?” he shrugged his shoulders.

“Oh, I know. Trust me,” and I indicated to my surroundings. He looked up and almost smirked at what I’d said. “So…what brought you here? To Cedarville?” I had been wondering this for awhile and I didn’t think I’d earned the right to ask the question until just now.

He looked back down and was quiet for a second. “Uh…use to come fishin’ here with dad and brother when I was a kid. Had to get away from some stuff where I was at…This was the first place I thought of.”

I nodded once he finished and gave him a reassuring smile. “Well, it’s a good place. We’ve got good people and there’s fun to be had if that’s what you’re looking for.” It was almost a question, but I tried to word it as a statement.

“Nah…not really lookin’ for nothin’.” He took another sip of his coffee and looked around the diner, everywhere but at me.

“Really? Not even a place to stay?” I sat the silverware in my hands down and stood there looking at him solemnly. I knew that I was overstepping again but I couldn’t help it. I knew this man had nowhere to go and he wasn’t going to say so unless I asked him outright.

He brought his face up and his eyes met mine. “What’s that s’pose to mean?” he questioned. His whole demeanor changed in a second. Suddenly he seemed defensive and it was like I had poured water on a cat.

“N…Nothing. I just…I just talked to Mr. Marcus today when he came in for pie. And I saw what happened earlier when you pulled in. Do you have somewhere to go?” I tried to keep my tone as even as possible. I didn’t want him to think I was pitying him or putting him down. I just wanted him to know that I was here to help.

His mouth frowned slightly as he looked away shamefaced. “Look, I don’t need your charity. I’ll figure something out. The job was enough.”

“It’s not charity!” I said indignantly. “But I’m not gonna sit by and let someone push me away just because they got too much pride.” I crossed my arms and gave him a look that said I meant business.

He sighed and took the last gulp of his coffee. “What? You gonna find me a room in a boarding house or something? I can barely afford this coffee.”

I bit my lip as he spoke and thought for a minute about what he said. I wasn’t entirely sure what to do. I didn’t really have the money pay for anything that was going to be that expensive and I couldn’t ask Daddy. He’d already helped with the job and even though he considered himself a good Christian man, he knew when to draw the line. I thought for another second and as I turned to the grab the coffeepot to give him a refill, a thought flashed across my mind.

“Hey, do you know how to lay carpet?” I asked eagerly as I filled his cup one more time. 

“Sure, I guess. Done it a few times to get some spare cash.” He shrugged at me and gave me a questioning look.

“Okay. That’s all I need to know. Can you stay here until I get off? It’ll be about another hour.” I checked the clock on the wall as I spoke.

“Don’t see why not. Ain’t got nowhere else to be.” I smiled at him and before I could respond, Luanne came up next to me and gave me a mean look.

“Beth, your table just asked me for more napkins. How ‘bout you stop standing here and get to work?” she asked with a bitter tone to her voice.

“Sorry, Luanne.” She walked away in a huff and I rolled my eyes at Daryl, who actually did smirk this time. It was different to see a smile on his face. Usually he looked pretty somber, so seeing the difference was a little off-putting, but in a good way. I smiled back and went to check on my tables.

True to his word, he sat in the same spot for the next hour and read a newspaper someone had left on the counter from this morning. I made sure to look busy because I knew if Luanne caught me off guard one more time, she’d go to Lee and I’d be in for it. While I was cutting a slice of cherry pie for a customer, I cut one for Daryl and sat it in front of him while I zoomed by the counter. I didn’t give him a chance to say thanks or protest as I just smiled and kept moving.

Finally the busy time died down and my shift was over. I stopped by Daryl at the counter before I grabbed my sweater and purse. “Meet me on your bike around back?” I asked. He nodded and headed out the front doors. I pulled my sweater on and slung my bag on my shoulder and waved goodbye to Luanne. She just gave me a swift nod and walked through the kitchen door. Ricardo had already left and Mike, the night cook, had taken his place. I gave him a brief wave and walked out the back door.

Daryl was sitting on his bike behind the restaurant, helmet strapped to his chin, waiting on me. I walked up to my car and threw my purse in the backseat. I opened the driver side door and yelled to him, “Follow me!” trying to get my message across over the roar of the bike. He nodded and I sank down into the Saturn. Thankfully it started and I pulled out and headed home with Daryl following close behind.


	5. Chapter 5

I pulled into my driveway and noticed that Rick wasn’t home yet. I felt a little relieved and a little guilty too. I shook the feeling off and put the car in park in front of the garage. Daryl pulled his bike in behind me and I heard him cut the engine. I watched him pull his helmet off in my rearview mirror and I realized I probably looked weird still sitting in my car.

Opening the door, I hopped out and grabbed my purse from the backseat. Daryl climbed off his bike and walked towards me, only stopping when there was about four feet between us. “Whose place is this?” he asked me while he turned his head to get a full view of the property.

“Uh…it’s mine,” I replied. Daryl’s eyes snapped to me and I quickly looked away. I turned towards the garage and started walking, hearing his footsteps follow behind me. Once we got close, I saw that the carpet had indeed been delivered. It was a big roll of dark tan carpeting, plenty to cover the room upstairs. I briefly stopped by it as we walked into the open garage, sidestepping boxes and scattered tools.

“Carpet,” I said, pointing down at the roll. Daryl raised his eyebrows at me and nodded, unsure of how to respond. I waved my hand for him to follow me and I jumped up the stairs, taking two at a time as I normally do. Once I made it to the top, I walked to the center of the room and waited for Daryl. A few seconds later, he climbed the last step and looked around. I held out my arms and said “Tah Dah!” like I was unveiling a wonderful magic trick.

He made the same raised eyebrow, confused look as he had downstairs and I sighed. “This the spare room over the garage. It’s not finished yet, but all it needs is carpet. And some furniture…” I bit my lip nervously as I looked around the rough space. The paint looked good and I knew once the carpet was in, it’d look pretty nice.

“So what? Need me to put carpet in?” he asked.

“Well…yea. No one here knows how to do it,” and I shrugged.

“So you’re payin’ me to put carpet in so I can afford to stay at the motel? Room costs a little more than carpet installation,” he said, still looking a little confused.

“Um…I mean…you could put the carpet in…and then you can stay here…” My voice trailed off and I peeked my eyes up at him to see his reaction.

“Ah nah. I ain’t stayin’ here for free. I told you I ain’t no charity case.” He backed up, shaking his head at me. He didn’t look exactly mad but he certainly wasn’t happy either.

“Look, it’s not charity. I need someone to put carpet in here and you need a place to stay. It’s not rocket science.” He sighed at me and kept shaking his head no, refusing to meet my eyes as he stubbornly crossed his arms. Then I heard a car pull up and I looked out the window to see Rick’s pickup pulling in next to my car. I knew he’d wonder whose bike that was, so I decided to head down and intercept him before he started to worry. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere,” I commanded as I bounded down the steps.

Rick saw me walking towards him from the garage and he gave me a curious look. “Hey baby. Whose bike is that?” he asked as he wrapped me up in his arms and gave me a kiss.

“Okay. Don’t get mad,” I started. His entire demeanor changed at those words as he squinted his eyes at me and pulled away a little. “That’s Daryl’s bike. Mr. Marcus kicked him out of the motel today, where he was staying. He just started at McClain’s, so he doesn’t have any money to pay him for the room. He needs a place to stay and he knows how to install carpet…” Before I could finish, Rick cut me off.

“Oh Beth. Don’t tell me you’re saying what I think you’re saying,” he sighed.

“What? He needs a place to stay. Not for forever, but just for now. Come on, baby. You said you loved my big heart.”

“I do, but this is a bit much, don’t you think? You got him the job, you don’t have to give him a place to live. We can’t keep taking in strays.”

“Why not? You said that about Leah and look how much you love her now!” Rick chuckled at me but rolled his eyes. I put both hands on the sides of his face and brought his eyes to mine. “Look, this guy is just down on his luck and he could use a helping hand. I know you don’t know him but I see him for what he is, someone who needs us. Now I won’t let him stay if you say no, but think about it…please. I have no idea where he’ll go if we turn him out.”

Rick was silent for a minute and he looked away while he thought. I bit my lip nervously and grabbed both his hands, squeezing them hard. Finally he sighed and gave me an exasperated look. “Fine…he can stay.”

A huge grin spread across my face and I jumped into Rick’s arms and squeezed him tight. He laughed against me and I brought my head back to place a million thank you kisses all over him. He finally set me back down and I practically shouted, “Thank you baby!”

“Alright, alright. So let’s talk logistics. How long is he gonna stay here? Is it gonna be for free? Better yet, where’s he gonna sleep?” He stood with his hands on his hips as he questioned me.

“Um…I don’t know about how long. I figured he could do some jobs around the house until he can afford to pay something like rent. You can’t do everything and I can basically do nothing, so he’ll be helpful,” I assured him. Then I thought about the last question and about where he would sleep. Then the thought occurred to me where there was a whole room of furniture. “He can sleep on the couch tonight. But tomorrow we can go to Daddy’s and get my old bedroom furniture. It’s a twin bed, but it’s still in good shape. Get the dresser and the desk too.” I smiled at my ingenious plan.

“Yea? And how do you think your dad is gonna take that?” Rick asked.

“Uh…I’ll think of something to tell him. Just leave it to me.” I brushed away Rick’s concerns and he just laughed at me. Then his attention went to something behind me and I turned to look at what he was seeing. Daryl had come back down the steps and was leaning against the wall of the garage. I gave him a reassuring smile and grabbed Rick’s hand, effectively dragging him with me as I walked over.

“Hey. So what do you think? You install the carpet and in return you can stay up there. We’re gonna get some spare furniture tomorrow, so you’ll have to sleep on the couch tonight. And when you’re able to, you can pay us a little rent money because I’m sure it’ll make everyone feel better,” I added sarcastically, rolling my eyes at both men.

Daryl’s face still looked a little conflicted and he shrugged while he looked at the ground. “Uh…I don’t know. I mean…y’all don’t even know me.”

“Well, then let’s fix that.” I walked up to him and extended my hand. “Hi there. My name’s Beth Greene. I’m a 22-year-old waitress at Sam’s Diner. I like music, reading, and generally anything that has to do with the outdoors. That there is my boyfriend, Rick Grimes.” I nodded towards Rick, who smiled at me and shook his head. “He’s a state trooper and all around good guy. He likes watching TV and leaving house projects undone until I nag him enough to do them. We’ve been together about two years and we have a dog named Leah. You’ll meet her in a minute; she loves new people.”

Daryl looked at me and then looked to Rick and his face practically asked, “Is this girl for real?” Rick just shrugged at him and Daryl sighed, finally taking my hand to shake it. “I’m Daryl Dixon…” he mumbled. Once we finished shaking, he reached out towards Rick and shook his hand as well.

“Tell us about yourself, Daryl Dixon,” I said in my ones of my cheerful voices.

“Uh…Like just about anything with an engine. Know how to fish, hunt, use a crossbow. Started fixing cars when I was a kid, done it as work off and on for a few years.” He shrugged at me like that was all he really had to say and I nodded at him.

“Okay then. So it’s settled? You’ll stay?” I asked eagerly.

Daryl’s face took on that same conflicted look and he bit his lip like he was still unsure. Suddenly I heard Rick’s voice pop up behind me. “I know you’re probably thinking this is crazy. We don’t even know much about you and nobody’s offered you something like this before in your life. You’re probably wondering if we’re lunatics, or at least thinking that she is,” and he pointed to me. I scoffed at him and brushed his hand away. Daryl smirked but Rick kept going. “But we’re really normal people. Beth just has a soft spot for folks that she sees in need and the thing is…she knows how to spot the good ones. So that’s why I have every faith in her when she invited you to stay. And if you don’t, it’s gonna kill her. So please say yes.”

I looked up at my man and ran a hand across his cheek. I truly did love him and how he always stood by me. I looked back to Daryl and he was biting his lip as he thought. “Well?” I asked him.

Finally, after a minute, he conceded. “Yea, alright. I’ll stay. But not for free. As soon as I can, I’ll start payin’ ya somethin’.”

“Well then it’s settled!” I said happily, clapping my hands together. “Alright, come on!” and I indicated for him to follow me to the house. We all walked up the front steps and I pulled open the screen door, only for Leah to come running out to greet us. I laughed and leaned down to pet her. “I’m sure you can tell that this is Leah. She’s always excited at first but she calms down after a minute.”

Leah walked away from my hands and went up to sniff at Daryl’s feet. He stood still for a moment as Leah got acquainted with him. She must have decided in his favor because she jumped up and pawed at his legs until he finally bent down and gave her a light scratch behind the ears.

“See? She likes you already,” and I turned to Rick and gave him a wink. I knew he could tell what I was thinking because he rolled his eyes at me and gave me the finger from his side where Daryl couldn’t see it. Rick could care less about Daddy’s superstition about animal intuition, but I always thought there was probably a grain of truth to it.

I walked into the house and the two men followed me. As we walked room to room throughout the first floor, I babbled along as Rick just chuckled at me and Daryl nodded. “So here’s the living room. You can crash on the couch tonight, but tomorrow we should have an actual bed for you. And if you walk down the hallway, here’s the downstairs bathroom.” I opened the door below the stairs which was much smaller in comparison to what we had upstairs.

“There’s obviously no bathroom out in the garage, so you can come in here and use this one whenever. The backdoor is usually always unlocked, so don’t worry about that. And here’s the kitchen. Upstairs is our room and a spare room that is filled with a bunch of junk.” I giggled nervously and fiddled with my hands as I tried to think of something else to say.

We stood in silence for a minute before Daryl turned to Rick. “So, you got any tools to install that carpet?”

Rick nodded in surprise. I don’t think he expected for Daryl to ask him anything. “Uh… yea. I should. What will ya need?” He indicated for Daryl to follow him and they walked back towards the front door.

“Somethin’ to cut it with, a staple gun, some heavy duty…” I heard their voices trail off as they stepped outside and I sighed with relief. Sometimes I ran out of things to say and if Daryl hadn’t piped up we’d probably still be standing here in silence. I headed upstairs and changed from my uniform. I didn’t exactly want to throw on a pair of flannel shorts and tank top since we had a new houseguest, so I settled for a pair of jeans and a v-neck tee.

I pulled my long hair from the bun that I had worn today and combed out the tangled mess. Combing only helped to make it frizzier than normal, so I pulled it to one side and plaited it into a loose braid, tying it off with an elastic. Once I thought I looked somewhat presentable, I went back downstairs and decided to bite the bullet and call Daddy about my furniture.

His phone rang five times before he finally picked up. “Hello?” his voice said on the other end of the line.

“Hey Daddy,” I said, trying to sound upbeat.

“Hey Bethy. Whatcha doin’ sweetie?” I heard him exhale after he spoke, probably from sitting down after struggling to get up to catch the phone

“Oh nothing. Sitting at the house. So I wanted to ask you something.” I tried broaching the subject in an even tone so he didn’t get too suspicious.

“Well ask away, darlin’. You know you can ask me anythin’.”

I smiled at my Daddy’s kind words, but I knew that he didn’t always have the answers that I wanted to hear when I asked him my questions. “Well, me and Rick are getting that room over the garage put together. And we were talking about renting it out. Ya know, trying to bring some more money in. But I think it’ll do better if we already have some furniture in it.”

“Hmmm, that could be true. What do you need me for then?” he asked.

“Um…I was wondering if we could have the furniture in my room at your house. The bed, the dresser and the desk. Since it’s just sitting over there, not getting used…” I trailed off as I braced for his response.

He gave a deep sigh into the phone and I worried about what was coming. “I don’t know, Beth. What do you need that for? It’s only a twin sized bed anyway.”

“Well a twin is all we need,” I responded quickly.

“Oh? Then do you already have someone in mind to rent the room?”

“Uh…pretty much. It’s that friend from the diner, the one you helped get the job for.” Now I really was worried about what he was thinking. I was trying to hold off on telling him that we had given the room to someone already, let alone that someone being a man. I knew he wouldn’t approve of that.

“Oh…And Rick’s okay with that? ‘Cause I don’t know how I feel about you having some strange man staying on your property, Beth. And I don’t know about you taking that furniture. I bought that for you for this house young lady.”

I covered the mouthpiece on my phone as I let out a loud groan. I should have known he was going to bring this up. “Daddy, please just listen. Yes, Rick knows and he’s fine with it. He knows that Daryl’s having a hard time right now and he’s willing to help him just as much as you did. And you don’t need to worry Daddy. You know how many guns Rick has in this house? He’s not gonna let anything happen to me and that’s a guarantee.”

I heard him cough as he thought things through. “I don’t know…” he mumbled.

“Oh, c’mon Daddy. That furniture isn’t doing anyone any good over there. I haven’t slept in that bed in over a year. I know you bought it for me, but I think it’s time to realize that I may not ever sleep in that bed again. And I can always bring it back if I decide to move back in, should that day ever happen,” I added with a sarcastic tone to my voice.

I heard a small chuckle through the phone and took it as a good sign. “Oh, alright then. I guess you can have it. When you coming by to get it?”

I did a little dance of celebration right in the middle of the kitchen once he finally relented. “Thank you, Daddy! We’ll come and get it tomorrow.”

“Okay, sweetie. I’ll see you then. Love you, Bethy.”

“Love you too!” I said into my phone and then I heard him hang up. I sat my phone on the kitchen counter and couldn’t help but do another dance of happiness.

“Hey! What’s all that for?” I heard Rick ask from behind me. He must have walked back in and I hadn’t heard the screen door open. I ran up to him and gave him a big hug before I answered his question.

“Daddy let me have the furniture! So we can go get it tomorrow!” I said excitedly. Rick smiled at me and gave me a brief kiss before heading to the fridge and grabbing a beer.

“Now you have to help me lift that stuff. Your dad isn’t exactly in the right kind of shape to be lifting anything,” he said as he took a sip from the longneck bottle.

“Hey! I will! Since when don’t I pull my own weight?” I asked indignantly.

“That’s not what I’m saying, baby. Don’t get all in a tizzy over nothing,” he said in his reassuring voice. He wrapped his arms around me and we hugged as our bodies lightly swayed back and forth. I gave him a brief kiss on his neck to let him know I wasn’t upset. “You should have a spare room above the garage with brand new carpet by nightfall. He got started as soon as we got everything together. I helped him lift the roll upstairs and he said he had it from there.” Rick shrugged and lifted his eyebrows in a slightly surprised look.

“Well that’s not surprising. He doesn’t seem like somebody who’d wait to leave a task like that for another day.”

“What? Like me?” Rick asked, giving me a look of small contempt.

“Oh hush,” I said, smacking his chest lightly. “You know that’s not what I meant. Don’t go getting in a tizzy now.” Rick laughed as I threw his own words right back at him. I walked over to the fridge and opened it. “So, what you want for dinner tonight? I can do those barbecue chicken legs that you like.”

Rick groaned and gave me a definite nod as he took another swig of his beer. I laughed at him and started to gather ingredients for dinner. He scooted off to the living room and I heard the TV flip on. I made dinner and flipped through a book while I waited for things to cook. Once it was all ready, I made plates for me and Rick. I also made an extra plate for Daryl and sat it in the oven on warm so it would be ready for whenever he was finished.

Once we ate, Rick did the dishes for me and we laid around the living room. I was pretty exhausted from such a long day, so I was content to stay in the house tonight. Eight o’clock rolled around and Daryl still hadn’t come back inside. Curiosity got the best of me, so I went to the kitchen and grabbed the plate for him, along with a beer and balanced everything as I opened the back door. “Baby, I’m gonna go take Daryl this food. Be right back!” I called to the living room. I heard a distant okay and rolled my eyes. Rick was notorious for only half listening to me while he watched TV.

I made my way around to the garage and looked up to see the bright light of the upstairs room cutting through the darkening night. I walked through the garage, being extra careful of where I stepped since I was barefoot and hopped up the steps.

Once I got to the top, I peeked into the room and smiled as I saw beautiful new carpet lining the once dull, plywood floors. Everything was just about done, but there was one corner left to finish and I saw that Daryl was on his knees laying the last section down. My breath caught in my throat as I took in his appearance.

He had taken his boots off and sat them on the stairs, I presumed to help keep the carpet clean which I appreciated, so he worked in socked feet. But the part that caught me off guard was that he was shirtless. I’m sure it got hot up here while you were working this hard and I could tell because he had a few drops of sweat that ran down his back.

I quickly looked away, feeling like I had just seen something that I wasn’t supposed to. I cleared my throat loudly and he turned around and saw me standing there. “Uh, hey. I brought you some food and a beer, if you wanna take a quick break. Ain’t gotta get all this done tonight, ya know,” and I laughed awkwardly.

He stood up and pulled his shirt from his back pocket and tugged it on, buttoning the front quickly and hiking up the sleeves. “Nah, it’ll be better to get it all in tonight. That way there’ll be a place to put any furniture.” He took the beer that I offered and drank half of it in one gulp. Then he grabbed the plate, gave me a nod of thanks, and walked to the steps.

He sat down on one of the middle steps and started to eat rapidly. “Whoa! Slow down. It’s not going anywhere,” I joked as I sat down at the top of the flight of stairs. Daryl grunted but continued to shovel the food into his mouth. I sat there for a minute and tried to think of something to say. “So, I hope a twin bed is okay. It’s the easiest one we can get our hands on.”

“S’fine. A place to sleep is a place to sleep. Won’t hear any complaints from me,” and he shrugged his shoulders.

“Yea…” I replied. I couldn’t really think of anything else to say. Maybe my brain was too tired or something. A minute later he finished his plate and drained the last of his beer. “Oh, here. I’ll take that,” gesturing towards the empty plate and bottle. He handed me the items and we both stood.

How we were standing on the stairs ended up making our heads level and probably for the first time ever he looked me full in the face. I couldn’t control the small blush that worked up my neck, towards my face, and I tried looking away but my eyes kept going back to him. His shaggy hair stuck to his face with sweat, but his tan skin looked smooth as his eyes bored into me.

“Well…whenever you’re done, come back in the house and we’ll get you set up. I can grab you some spare towels and stuff…for the bathroom downstairs.” He nodded at me and then opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but then he quickly closed it again and looked down. I bit my lip, my normal nervous gesture, and made my way down the steps.

He scooted to the side so I could get past him on the narrow staircase. My chest brushed against his and I caught a scent of his manly smell, a mixture of sweat and the sweet soap they gave out at the motel. I knew that my face was probably bright red so I kept my gaze on the steps below my feet and once I reached the landing, I turned around and looked back. He was still standing in the same place, looking down at me.

I stood there for a second while we looked at each other and got the same feeling I had earlier, that I was doing something wrong. Daryl finally looked away and mumbled, “Thanks for the food. It was real good.” He turned around and went back to the carpet. I headed back to the house, waiting just a second outside the back door until my face returned to its normal, pale shade.


	6. Chapter 6

When I went back inside, I headed upstairs and grabbed some spare towels and washcloths as well as some extra soap and shampoo. As I set up the bathroom downstairs, I realized that Daryl probably didn’t have any other clothes. I hadn’t seen him wear anything else besides that same outfit. I’m sure it was filthy by now.

Walking to the living room, I sat down next to Rick on the couch and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Hey baby?” I asked to get his attention.

“Yea?” he replied. I grabbed the remote and threw the TV on mute so he would actually listen to me. He finally turned his head my way, knowing that I was serious. “Yes, ma’am?” he said with raised eyebrows.

“Can I grab a few things from your closet to give to Daryl. I don’t think he has any other clothes. At least it doesn’t seem that way.”

“He doesn’t have any?” Rick asked. I just shrugged in reply. “Hmm…who doesn’t have at least one spare set of clothes? Seems kinda weird to me.”

I knew his law enforcement mind was ticking away and I couldn’t help but wonder that same question myself. I wonder why he had to come to this town and what it was that he had to get away from? It must have been pretty bad if he had to drop everything and go the way he did. All he seemed to have were the clothes on his back and his bike.

“Well, if it’ll make you feel better, you can check his record and make sure we’re not inviting a mass murderer into our house,” and I chuckled lightly. I didn’t think that there was anything bad about Daryl, but I knew Rick would feel better after he checked into the mysterious man I’d brought home with me. I couldn’t help but be a little curious myself.

“Oh, I was planning on it,” he said as he planted a kiss on top of my head. “But yea, you can grab some stuff. Just not my blue shirt!”

“Oh I would never dream of giving that blue shirt away baby,” I said sarcastically as I stood from the couch. I leaned down and gave him a kiss before heading upstairs to sift through his clothes.  Rick had tons to choose from. He never got rid of anything, even if it had holes in it. Sometimes I would sneak his old, ratty t-shirts into the trash and feign ignorance when he asked about them weeks later.

I settled on a few plain t-shirts, a pair of jeans that he stopped wearing months ago and a pair of gym shorts that I figured might be more comfortable to wear at night. I tucked a couple pairs of boxers in the pile too, although I wasn’t sure what kind of underwear Daryl preferred.

As I walked back downstairs, I heard the back door open and figured that that was Daryl coming back inside. We ended up meeting in the hallway, right at the bathroom door. “Get it all finished?” I asked, keeping my focus on the pile of clothes in my hands. He gave me a brief nod and we stood there a little awkwardly. “Well, I bet it looks great. So, I put some towels and stuff in the bathroom. And here are some extra clothes of Rick’s that he doesn’t wear any more. Nothing too special.” I said the last sentence a little loud and turned my head towards the living room so Rick could hear me. I knew he was probably smiling from the couch.

“Thanks,” Daryl mumbled as I placed the stack of clothes into his hands.

“And if you just wanna leave the ones that you have on now in the bathroom, I can throw them in with the laundry in the morning.”

“You don’t gotta do that,” Daryl said softly.

“Oh, it’s fine. Our clothes gotta get clean too,” I reassured him with a wave of my hand. “Well, I’ll leave ya to it.” And I turned and headed back to the living room. I plopped down on the couch next to Rick and heard the bathroom door shut. Rick wrapped an arm around me and I cuddled in close next to him, wrapping my arms around his waist and tucking my head into his neck.

A few minutes later, I heard the shower turn on and it stayed on for awhile. I was sure the water had turned cold once it hit the thirty minute mark. When I heard the water shut off, I went to the linen closet upstairs and grabbed some sheets and a blanket. I grabbed a pillow from our bed and took everything downstairs. Rick saw me coming and knew his couch time was up. He helped me tuck the sheet on top of the cushions and I sat the folded top sheet on top of the blanket on one end and threw the pillow on the other. Now Daryl was all set for a place to sleep.

Rick gave me a quick kiss before he headed upstairs and I sat and waited for Daryl to come out. About ten minutes later, I heard the bathroom door open and I walked to the hallway. As Daryl stepped out, I couldn’t help but smile at how different he looked. He had on one of the t-shirts I gave him as well as the gym shorts and his hair was wet and combed back.

“So, I got the sofa all set up for you. I don’t know what time you have to go into the garage tomorrow but there’s quick stuff to eat in the kitchen, like granola bars and things like that. Coffee pot is already set, so all you have to do is press the on button…” I trailed off as I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Okay. Thanks,” he mumbled.

“The sofa isn’t the best, but it should sleep okay. Well, have a good night.” He gave me another one of his brief nods and I turned and headed up to mine and Rick’s room. Rick was already tucked under the covers, flipping through our limited channel selection. I pulled my jeans off and unhooked my bra and slid it off through the armhole of my shirt. Rick watched me, mesmerized by my magic trick, and I laughed at him and tossed the bra at his face once I had it pulled off.

He threw it to the ground and grabbed my wrist and yanked me into the bed. We settled into a mild round of roughhousing where we each swapped having the upper hand, although Rick always let me win because I could never really take him. I tickled his neck and under his arms within an inch of his life until he finally conceded while he tried to catch his breath with a dark red face.

Afterwards, we settled into bed and within thirty or so minutes I heard his steady breathing as he dozed off. I tried to follow him into dreamland but my eyes were wide awake. I tossed and turned but the small pit of anxiety that I felt at the bottom of my stomach seemed to be pushing away any chance I had at getting some sleep. What was most concerning was that I wasn’t sure why I felt so apprehensive. Finally, right around 2 A.M. my eyes got heavy after watching about a million infomercials.

When I woke up the next morning, I reached over to find Rick’s warm body next to me but his side of the bed was empty. Surprised by that, I turned over and saw that it was already past ten. Rick must have let me sleep in and I felt a little grumpy over that. I hated sleeping this late. It always made me feel like I was wasting the day away, a belief that Daddy had instilled in me from an early age.

I climbed out of bed and after a quick trip to the bathroom, I pulled on a pair of stretchy workout pants and a t-shirt with a sports bra underneath. Since we were going to be moving furniture today, I didn’t want to dress too nice. After making my way downstairs and to the kitchen, I fixed myself a cup of coffee and saw Rick standing out back, playing fetch with Leah.

As much as he denied it, I knew he liked that dog and I never regretted bringing her home for a second. I wondered if I would feel the same way about Daryl a year from now. I opened the screen door and stepped out back, Rick glancing at me as I sipped my coffee from the back porch railing.

“Well good morning, sleepy head,” he said with a smile.

“Why didn’t you wake me?” I asked in a still slightly groggy voice. I needed this coffee to kick in soon if I wanted to have any energy today. He tossed the stick for Leah again and shrugged.

“I felt you tossing and turning last night, figured you could use the sleep. How late were you up?”

“Oh gosh. Probably until like two in the morning. Felt like my eyes were gonna pop outta my head, I was so wide awake.” I made a face to my man to let him know how annoyed it had made me.

“Why was that?” he asked curiously. It wasn’t normal for me to do that, usually I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow and Rick knew it.

I shrugged again as I sipped my coffee. “I don’t know. I felt…kind of anxious I guess. Like a nervous feeling in my stomach and I couldn’t shake it, but I don’t know why.”

“Huh…that’s weird. Over this Daryl stuff maybe?” he asked with lifted eyebrows. Leah brought the stick back again and he picked it up and held it over her head until she was jumping with excitement, then he threw it until it disappeared into the tree line. Leah ran for it as fast as her tail could carry her.

“I don’t know why I’d be feeling like that though…” I stood there in thought for a minute with my brows creased together. Rick watched me until Leah came running back. “Maybe I’m worried about what Daddy’ll say when we go get the furniture today?” I asked, thinking out loud.

“Maybe. When you wanna head over?” Rick asked. He was walking towards me down, ending his fetch session with Leah.

“Here in a little bit. You ready to do some heavy lifting?” I asked him teasingly. He smiled at me and grabbed my coffee cup, sitting it down on the porch before he picked me up in his arms and swung me around. I tossed my head back and laughed as Leah barked at us from our feet.

Bringing my head down, I placed a kiss to his lips and we embraced for a few minutes before we finally broke apart. I picked up my coffee cup and we walked back inside. “Did you see Daryl this morning?”

“Yea I saw him pulling out on his bike. I guess he was heading to the garage?” I nodded at him and he continued. “The coffee was already brewed when I walked in the kitchen. He must have had a cup and washed it afterwards because I didn’t see a dirty mug anywhere.”

I walked over to the pantry and glanced inside and saw a couple granola bars missing as well as a fruit cup. He should have taken more than that because I knew that surely wasn’t enough to sustain a grown man, but I guess he didn’t want to seem too greedy on his first full day in our house. I just remembered the clothes he left in the bathroom and realized I needed to do some laundry before we left today. I sat my cup down and walked into the bathroom below the stairs.

He had folded his dirty clothes neatly and sat them next to the sink. I picked them up and quickly looked through them. Shirt, pants, and socks but no vest so I assumed that was something that probably never got washed. Then I realized that there was no underwear in this pile and I looked around the bathroom. Sitting next to the towels were the two pairs of boxers that I had brought down with the other clothes I had given to him last night.

I blushed slightly and realized that either he was still wearing the same pair of dirty underwear or he was most likely not wearing any at all. I tried to hide the surprised look on my face as I grabbed the clean boxers and tucked them under my arm and walked back to the kitchen. “What’s that face for?” Rick asked from the kitchen table where he read the newspaper as I opened the doors that hid the washer and dryer.

Sitting the dirty clothes down, I showed Rick the boxers of his that I had grabbed last night. “I guess he didn’t need these,” and I raised my eyebrows at him. We both shared amused looks and he went back to his paper. I started the washer and threw Daryl’s clothes in, making sure to set it to a heavy wash cycle. Who knows when the last time they were washed.

After that, I dragged Rick with me to go look at the new carpet above the garage. We went up the steps and I felt a big smile spread across my face as I took in the room. The carpet looked perfect and it really brought everything together. “Oh wow…” I said and looked over to Rick.

He was smiling just like me and he let a long whistle past his lips. “Well damn. I guess he really did know how to do carpet then,” and I scoffed and gave him a smack on the arm. He chuckled and came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders as we stood in the center of the room and did a full turn to look at every angle.

“See? Totally worth it, right?” I asked him, turning my head to look at his face behind me.

“Maybe,” he nodded. “You ready to go get that furniture now?”

“Absolutely. It’s gonna look so nice in here!” I said excitedly, jumping up and down. We went back down the steps and I ran in the house to pull on my sneakers. I gave Leah a quick pat on the head and dashed out the door to climb into Rick’s truck. Scooting to the center of the cab like I always did, Rick threw his arm around my shoulder as he backed out and we headed to my dad’s house.

Only a few minutes later and we were there. I had Rick stop so I could grab the mail and then we headed down the driveway. Daddy was already sitting on the front porch with Sampson laid out at his feet. He rocked back and forth in his rocking chair as he folded up his newspaper and sat it to the side. Sometimes I missed sitting out here with him in the early mornings. It was when we’d usually have our best talks.

“Hey sweetie,” he called out to me from the porch as we stepped out of the truck.

“Hey Daddy!” I said back, running up and giving him a big hug as he sat in the rocker.

“Rick,” Daddy nodded to my boyfriend.

“Hershel, how ya doin?” Rick asked as he stepped on to the porch.

“Oh, the same as usual. Missing my daughter more and more each day,” he said with a twinkle to his eye.

“Oh hush, Daddy. You say that like you only have one daughter. You do have another one. Maggie’d give you down the country if she heard you talking like that,” I scolded my father.

“Oh alright. So what’re you takin’ from my house today?” he asked, looking up at me.

“Not a whole lot. Just the bed and the desk and the dresser…” I tried to say it like it wasn’t basically the entire contents of my old room, even though it really was.

Daddy sighed and I looked to Rick, who just gave me his neutral face. He always tried to keep quiet around Daddy, even though no matter what he said, Daddy would still probably always resent him for taking his youngest daughter. Daddy stood from his rocker and he slowly made his way inside the house and I followed after him.

I use to try to open doors for him and help him get around, but he got sick of that pretty quick and told me to stop treating him like some invalid. So now I just let him go at his own pace while I patiently waited. He had his prosthetic leg on today so it was a little easier for him to get around. I hated it when he used the crutch because sometimes it threw his balance off and he’d been known to fall down occasionally. I got sadder and sadder each year as I realized that my father was only getting older and his health was steadily going downhill.

Once we made it to my room in the back of the house, I sighed as I thought of all the memories I had of this place. They all seemed like they happened so long ago when really it had only been a few years in the past. Daddy stood and watched as we pulled the bare mattresses off the bed and took the bed frame apart to load onto the truck. Rick did most of the heavy lifting, but I helped as much as I could.

We carried each piece of the frame out to the truck and loaded those up first. Then we carried out the mattresses. After that, we pulled the drawers out of the dresser to lighten the load and carried that out. The desk was the hard part. Even with the drawers taken out, it was still pretty heavy and it took a good half hour to get it outside and loaded onto the bed. Daddy offered to help but I insisted that he stayed put. The last thing I wanted was for him to get hurt trying help us lift something heavy.

Once we threw all the empty desk and dresser drawers on top and strapped everything down, Daddy invited us inside to eat some lunch. Even though he was the one who insisted on us coming inside to eat, I was the one who ended up making everyone a grilled cheese and we sat at the round kitchen table and chatted while we munched on our food.

“So Rick, who is this fella that Beth rented the room to? Is he a good person? Do I need to worry?” Daddy directed his questions to my boyfriend and gave him a look that said he wanted a serious answer.

“Well, he seems nice enough. We don’t know a whole lot about him, but I told Beth I’ll check his record on Monday just to help set my mind at ease. He sure knows how to install carpet though. The spare room looks real nice.” Rick spoke in his reassuring tone and I squeezed his hand underneath the table, giving him a small smile.

“Let me know what you find out then. I know you wouldn’t let anything happen to Beth, but a father can’t help but worry,” Daddy said. Rick looked at me surprised then and I had the same reaction. That was probably the nicest thing Daddy had ever said to Rick in the past two years.

“Will do, sir,” Rick nodded.

“Talked to Maggie just this mornin’. She coming for dinner Wednesday night and she’s bringing her new boyfriend,” he sighed. “I’d like you both to come.”

“Okay. We can do that. What time?” I asked. I was actually off Wednesday since I had to work next Saturday, so I didn’t see a problem with coming to dinner. I looked to Rick and he seemed fine with it too.

“Oh, you know Maggie. She says she’ll be here around three, so that means she won’t get here until four or four-thirty,” and Daddy rolled his eyes.

“Daddy, have some faith in her. She’s doing good right now. Going to school in Atlanta, living on her own. Just because she made one or two bad calls in the past doesn’t map out her future.” I always tried to stick up for Maggie whenever I could. She was my older sister, by about six years, and she was always there for me when I needed her. It’s true, she was a real wild child when we were younger, but she had really matured in the past few years and grown up quite a bit. We didn’t talk so much now since we were both living our own lives, but whenever we got together, it was just like old times when we’d stay up late and tell each other all our thoughts, dreams, and secrets.

“Well, never the less, I’d appreciate you coming. How’s work been for you both?” he asked.

“Oh, same old, same old. The diner never changes,” I replied and looked to Rick to give a better answer than mine.

“Pretty good. I actually stopped this one car the other day…” and he went off on a story about a random traffic stop that ended up being a man who had warrants in three different states. Rick loved telling stories about work so I just let him go and got up to grab plates while Daddy listened intently.

After I did the dishes, I looked around the house to see if there was anything else that needed attention. Before I could stop myself, I had dusted the entire living room and started a load of laundry for him. I went to his bathroom and quickly cleaned the toilet and wiped down the sink and mirror. I looked at his medications that he had sitting on the counter and saw a couple that looked a little low. I pulled out my cell phone and quickly called them into the pharmacy and set the pick-up time for tomorrow.

When I walked back into the kitchen, Rick had just finished his story and they were both chuckling. “Daddy, I called in a couple of your prescriptions to be refilled. They’ll be ready tomorrow at noon. And the load in the washer should be ready for the dryer in half an hour.”

Daddy gave me one his bearded smiles and he grabbed my hand. “Think this girl will ever stop taking care of me?” he asked Rick.

Rick laughed and wrapped an arm around my hips from where he was standing. “Nah, Hershel. I think she’s just getting started,” and they laughed together. I rolled my eyes and leaned in and gave Daddy a light hug.

“Alright, well I think we’re gonna go. I wanna get the room set up.”

“Alright. I love you, sweetie,” Daddy said as he hugged back.

“Love you too, Daddy. We’ll see you Wednesday night. Don’t forget the laundry or your pills. And thank you again for the furniture. It really means a lot to me.” I made sure my words sounded extra sincere because I really was thankful for how wonderful my dad could truly be.

Rick and Daddy shook hands briefly and said their manly goodbyes and we headed out the front door. I gave Sampson a quick rub between the ears and then we climbed back in the truck. Daddy gave us a wave from the porch and I waved back as we pulled off and headed back home.

By the time we pulled up to the house, the sunny morning we started with had turned cloudy. We both looked up and frowned a little. “Well, let’s get this stuff out of the truck before the bottom drops out on us,” Rick said and we started to unload the furniture.

It took almost twice as long to get each piece out than it did to put it in the truck. We had to take it down and then carry it up a flight of steps, which was a bigger task than I thought. By the time we got it all put in the spare room, Rick was exhausted since he had done most of the work. “Baby, go get a shower and take a nap. I’m gonna get this all set up and make it look it nice,” I said to my lover as I hugged his sweaty body.

“You sure? I could help you move stuff around.” He was sweet but I could see the sleepy look in his eye, so I pushed him towards the steps.

“Yes, I’m sure. This takes a woman’s touch anyways. Now go. I insist.” He smiled at me and we shared a brief kiss before he relented and walked down the steps to head inside. I turned around and started to bite my thumbnail as I thought about how I wanted to set all this up.

I ended up pushing the bed against one wall and scooting it back to the corner. Then I sat the dresser in the next corner and angled it outwards. The last thing I did was move the desk to one of the windows, so you could sit at it and look outside. I chose the window that overlooked the edge of our property, instead of the one that faced our house because that view was pretty boring.

Once everything had a place, I ran into the house and grabbed the spare set of sheets and the blanket and pillow I had given Daryl last night. He had folded everything neatly and sat it on the armchair this morning. I also grabbed a spare folding chair that we had sitting in our extra room upstairs. Back in the garage, I made up the bed and sat the folding chair in front of the desk. That way he had somewhere to sit besides the bed.

Before I walked back down the steps, I took one last look around and smiled to myself. This room had really come out quite nice. I was happy we were helping someone out and giving him such a good place to stay. Even though I looked at the furniture and saw what was once my old bedroom, I hoped that Daryl wouldn’t see that and could feel like this was a place that he could make his own.

When I went back into the house, I ran upstairs and saw Rick was sprawled out on the bed, fast asleep. I smiled at my sleeping lover and went into our bathroom where I washed away the sweat from today’s hard work. Afterwards, I combed out my long hair and threw some mousse into it to help keep the frizz to a minimum. I threw on a pair of old jeans and a tank top and made my way back down the steps.

Just as I got to the living room, I heard a motorcycle pulling into the driveway. I looked out the window and saw Daryl taking his helmet off as he cut the engine to his bike. I decided to meet him outside so I could show him the room myself. Leah followed me out the front door and she bounded for the driveway to greet Daryl.

He smirked and bent down to give her a quick scratch behind the ears. Leah didn’t know how to stop there so she quickly laid onto her back and whined for a belly rub which Daryl chuckled at and quickly obliged. It was the first time I had ever heard something like a laugh from his mouth and smiled at the sound. “Hey,” I said as I walked up to him.

“Hey. This dog’s crazy,” he joked as he stood up, effectively ending Leah’s moment of bliss.

“Oh, you have no idea,” I laughed. “We got the room all set up. You wanna see it?” He nodded to me and we walked to the garage. “One day we’ll get this all cleaned up and I can actually put my car in here,” I joked as I sidestepped a box with some random tools thrown into it.

We walked up the steps and once we got to the top, I stepped aside so Daryl could take it in. He walked past me and stood in the center of the room, taking things in slowly as he looked around. He ran his hands across the bed and opened the drawers to the dresser before finally going to the desk and sitting down in the chair I had sat there. He was quiet for a few minutes and I started to get antsy waiting for him to talk.

Finally, my impatience got the best of me. “What do you think?” I practically blurted out.

He looked at me then and smiled at the nervous energy that was practically pouring out of my body. “I like it. This is real nice,” he said as he stood from the chair. “Where’d y’all get all this?”

“Oh, it was mine. At my dad’s house. It was just sitting there, not getting used. So my dad let us bring it over here.” He smirked and shook his head while he looked down at the floor. “What?” I asked curiously. I wanted to know what he was thinking.

“It’s jus’…too much. You guys are…too nice. Never in a million years expected somethin’ like this.”

His words made me smile and I gave him a playful push on the arm. “Well you’re just gonna have to get used to it then. Maybe…maybe I should try to be meaner or something so you aren’t caught off guard so much,” I joked.

He shook his head again and then looked at me with his hands shoved into the pockets of Rick’s old jeans that he was wearing. “Nah…I don’t think you got a mean bone in your whole body.”

His kind words made me blush and I looked down to try and hide it. “I don’t know about all that…” I mumbled nervously.

“I think I do…”

At that, I looked up and our eyes connected for a second. I suddenly felt kind of flustered, like I needed to leave this small space and get some air. “So…I’m gonna go get dinner started. Feel free to change anything. Make it your own, ya know. I’ll see you in a bit.” Then I turned around and abruptly went back down the stairs.

As I walked around to the back door, I ran my hands over my face and tried to breathe slowly. I needed to get a grip on myself and fast. Once in the kitchen, I sat a skillet on a burner to start warming up while I chopped vegetables. A little while later, I had a shepherd’s pie ready to go into the oven. I set the timer on the microwave and then went to the washer to throw Daryl’s clothes in the dryer.

I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and a minute later I felt strong arms wrap themselves around me. I leaned back into Rick and sighed because he always made me feel so safe and happy. “Hey baby,” he mumbled as he leaned down and placed soft, sweet kisses into my neck.

“Well, hey there yourself,” I replied as I brought a hand back and ran it through his slightly messy head of hair.

“What’s in the oven?” he asked.

“Shepherd’s pie.”

“Mmmm…gonna eat good tonight,” he said as he swung me around. He picked me up and sat me on the washer, sliding in between my legs and wrapping his arms around my waist. I wrapped my own arms around his neck and brought our mouths together.

His lips were soft and warm against mine and I ran my hands through his hair as we embraced one another. I wrapped my legs around his hips and pulled him in closer. He smiled against my mouth and dipped a hand underneath my dark tank top. I hadn’t bothered to put a bra on, so he ran a hand across my breast, making the nipple nice and hard.

I kissed his mouth greedily and opened my mouth, my tongue begging for entrance. He parted his lips and I darted in until I met his. He tweaked my stiff nipple with his thumb and forefinger and I couldn’t stop myself from nibbling at his lower lip. Before we could get any further, the timer on the microwave started to beep, letting me know that I needed to check the oven.

Rick slowly slid his hand from under my tank to and picked me up from the washer, gently letting me down until my feet touched the tiled floor beneath me. I gave him one more quick kiss before I walked to the oven and opened it. Thankfully, that timer was exactly right. A minute longer and I probably would have burnt the potatoes. I grabbed my potholders and pulled it out, sitting it on the stovetop to cool for a minute.

Rick grabbed plates from the cabinet and silverware from the drawer. “Daryl back yet?” he asked.

I nodded to him while I grabbed a serving spoon. “Yea, he came back while you were napping. Showed him the finished room.”

“What’d he think?”

“He said that we were too nice,” and I laughed.

Rick smiled and ran a hand through my hair. “Want me to go grab him for dinner?”

“Sure. I’ll get the plates ready.” Rick walked out the back door to go grab the other man and I started to fill plates and grab glasses for drinks. I knew Rick would want sweet tea, and I hoped Daryl would want the same. I sat a fork on each plate and waited.

A minute later, Rick walked back inside with Daryl following behind him. I handed Rick his plate and glass and he gave me a quick thank you and a kiss on the cheek. I then handed Daryl his plate and glass and he nodded at me. “Hope you like Shepherd’s pie. Is sweet tea okay?” I asked, nodding towards his glass.

“S’fine,” he replied. I grabbed my own plate and glass and headed towards the living room where Rick already was. I sat down next to him and Daryl sat in the armchair. Rick had something random on and we sat and ate in silence.

The boys finished their plates quickly and I asked if anyone wanted seconds. They both nodded and I grabbed their plates and gave each a second helping. When I came back, I gave the plates back and sat back down. “So, how’s it going at McClain’s?” I asked Daryl.

He looked surprised that I addressed him and he chewed his bite slowly while he thought of an answer. “Pretty good. Jus’ like any other garage,” he shrugged.

“That’s good. Mr. McClain is pretty nice. Daddy knows him through church, so we got kinda lucky, I think.” Daryl gave me a slightly confused look and I realized I had missed a key point. “Oh, my dad was the one who got you the job. I think I forgot to say that before.”

A look of understanding crossed Daryl’s face and he nodded. “Thank your dad for me,” he said quietly.

I nodded but then had an idea. “Oh you can thank him yourself. We’re going there for dinner on Wednesday,” I said, gesturing between me and Rick. “You should come with us.”

“Mmm…don’t know ‘bout that. Sounds more like a family thing…” he trailed off, slightly shaking his head.

“Oh no. It’ll be fine. My sister is coming but she’s bringing a friend with her.” I looked over to Rick and gave him a quick nudge with my elbow, letting him know to help me out here. He raised his eyebrows at me, fork caught in mid-air, and tried to think of something to say.

“Uh…yea. You should come. Might as well just say yes. She ain’t gonna stop bugging you until you do.” I sighed at Rick and poked him in the side. He winced slightly and rubbed where my finger had landed. Daryl gave a snort of laughter and shook his head again.

After a minute though, he mumbled, “Alright. Guess I’ll go. Least I can do.”

“Yay! I don’t know why either one of you bother to start off by saying no. If you just agreed in the first place, we would save so much time,” I said to both of them. Rick laughed out loud and rolled his eyes to Daryl. Daryl chuckled lightly, but kept his eyes on his plate.

Once we were finished, Rick got up and took everyone’s plate and did the dishes. Daryl sat there for a minute before he finally stood up to go. “Think I’ll head back out,” he said, nodding towards the garage.

“Okay. Well, have a good night,” I said and he walked out the front door. Rick came back to the living room and we sat around for awhile before I finally felt the exhaustion from today hit me all at once. I let out a big yawn and stretched my arms. I was tired, so I looked to my man and ran a hand over his cheek. “I think I’m gonna head upstairs, baby. I’m real sleepy.”

“Okay. I love you,” he said and he leaned over and gave me a kiss. Afterwards, I stood from the couch and trudged my way up the stairs. Once I got to the bedroom, I pulled my jeans off and climbed into our big bed. Within minutes of my head hitting the pillow, I was fast asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

There was a distant whirring sound that was slowly getting louder and then it would fade again. This is what I woke to the next morning. At first I tried to brush the sound off as something funny going on with the ventilation system in this old house, but soon I realized it was coming from outside. When I finally popped my head up, I looked over at the clock and saw it was just a little after nine. The morning sun was filtering through our windows, giving a bright glow to our room.

Looking over, I saw Rick was still completely asleep. Then I heard that sound again, steadily getting louder. I groaned and threw the covers off my body and crawled out of bed. I stumbled over to the window and pulled back our sheer curtain to get a better look outside. I was more than surprised at what I saw.

Daryl was out in the front yard, shirtless with only the gym shorts on that I gave him, and he was pushing our old lawnmower across the grass. He would start at the opposite end of the yard and work his way towards the house and then go back up, hence why I kept hearing the sound of the mower come and go. I stood there for a moment in sheer disbelief.

I heard Rick rousing on the bed behind me and he called out, “What’re you looking at? What is it?”

“Come here, baby. Take a look at this.” I waved him over and he groaned at having to get out of bed. He finally pulled himself up and walked over, standing behind me.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, he recognized what he was seeing. “Is he mowing?”

“Uh-huh,” I replied, giving him a nod.

“Why?” he asked in a sleepy, confused voice.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. I mean the yard certainly needed to be mowed, but that was something Rick left until the absolute last minute because he hated it. “At least you won’t have to do it,” I said, turning to look up at him from where he stood behind me.

He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck. “I guess not. And now at least you get some eye candy.”

“Huh? What?” I asked in flustered voice, a slow blush building across my skin.

“Aw, c’mon. I know you probably think he looks good. I wouldn’t blame you, baby.”

“Oh really?” I said with disbelief to my voice. As we spoke, we both stood by the window and watched our new houseguest cut our grass.

“Stop acting all innocent. Your mouth is practically watering right now,” and he laughed as he placed a kiss in my hair and rubbed his hands on my shoulders.

“Oh hush! Stop teasing me,” I demanded even though I was smiling as I said it.

“Alright, alright. All teasing aside, you know it’s okay to think another guy is attractive, right? Have I ever been one of those jealous guys?”

I thought for a second as I went through the past two years we’d been together. Rick really wasn’t the jealous type. I wasn’t lying when I said that to Darlene. I think I was still use to being so cautious about things like that because I was with Jimmy for so long and he never let me around guys without him there, let alone admit that one of them was attractive. Sighing, I placed my hands over his and gave them a light squeeze.

If I was really being honest with myself, I definitely thought Daryl was attractive. Maybe more than just attractive. The problem was I couldn’t help but feel guilty every time I thought that. Even when we were alone in a room together, I felt like I was doing something wrong. If I said any of this to Rick, I know he’d tell me I was just being silly.

“Okay…so he’s not bad looking,” was all I decided to admit to my boyfriend. Rick snorted a laugh at my response and I could practically feel him roll his eyes behind me. “Well, I’m sure we look really weird standing at this window for the past ten minutes watching him mow our lawn. You want some coffee?”

“Do you ever need to ask that?”

Now I was the one to roll my eyes and we threw on some clothes before we headed downstairs. The coffee was already brewed and I realized that Daryl must have already started it. I poured two cups and gave Rick his as he grabbed the paper that was sitting on the kitchen table. Daryl must have grabbed that as well, but he hadn’t bothered to open it.

After I drank about half my cup, I opened the laundry doors and folded Daryl’s clothes that I had left in the dryer overnight. I picked up the small stack of clothes along with my coffee cup and headed out the front door. Standing on the porch for a minute, I waited for Daryl to notice that I wanted to talk to him.

Once he finally saw me, he slowed the push lawnmower and cut the engine. He wiped a hand across his sweaty forehead as he walked towards the porch. “Mornin’,” he said in his gruff voice.

“Morning,” I replied. “Just woke up and had the urge to mow?” I smiled to let him know that it was okay.

“Well, it looked like it needed it…” he mumbled, turning to look at the yard.

“Yea, it did. But you don’t have to do things like that, ya know. We don’t expect it or anything.”

“I know. But y’all are givin’ me place to stay, food to eat, might as well help out where I can. Right thing to do,” and he shrugged.

“Alright. Well, here are your clothes. All fresh and clean. Want me to go sit them upstairs?” I asked. He gave a nod and I left my coffee cup on the porch as I headed for the garage while he went back to the lawnmower. I heard him start it back up and as I walked through the open garage door, I stopped dead in my tracks. All the boxes and tools we had just left scattered around were now unpacked and organized on the walls of the garage.

Everything grouped together in a nice, orderly manner and I could actually see the cement garage floor below my feet. There was no more hopping around so I didn’t step on anything and I squealed in happiness as I realized I could fit my car in here now. He must have worked on this last night after I showed him the finished upstairs. My mouth fell open in shock as I turned in a complete 360 degrees.

I didn’t even want to blink in case I was imagining this and shutting my eyes would bring back all the clutter and disorganization. I realized I had to show Rick, so I ran up the steps and placed Daryl’s clothes on his bed. The room looked the exact same as yesterday except the bed wasn’t made from where he slept in it last night. I zoomed back down and ran around to the back of the house, flinging the screen door open.

Rick looked up from the table and took in my breathless state. “What? What is it?” he asked, jumping up with worry filling his voice.

I smiled to let him know I was fine but I waved for him to follow me. “C’mon. I gotta show you something.” He walked with me back outside and we made our way to the garage at a brisk pace. Once we came around to the front, Rick was completely taken aback at how clean everything looked.

“What? When did he do this?” he asked, looking at me with wide eyes. I just smiled and shrugged my shoulders at him with a slight shake of my head. “Oh man…” he mumbled as he walked towards me and we embraced. Then we looked over to Daryl who was still focusing on the yard in front of him. “I’m still gonna do that check tomorrow, but I will say that you picked a really good homeless stranger to bring home, baby.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more!” I exclaimed and my face started to ache from how big I was grinning. “Oh! We should bring him fishing with us today!”

“Yea…I don’t see why not,” he said absentmindedly while he gazed at our now-beautiful garage.

“And look! I can park the car in here now!” I said stepping away and holding my hands out and doing a quick twirl. I giggled in happiness and threw my head back. Rick laughed at me and picked me up and continued spinning me in a circle.

After a second, he brought me back down and we kissed for a second. Then we heard the engine of the lawnmower cut off. When we looked back outside, we saw Daryl heading for the backyard, presumably to finish his mowing adventures. We quickly walked out and met him where the back and front yard meet.

“Oh man, that garage looks awesome. Thank you so much for doing that.” Rick was the first one to speak. I was still wrapped up in his arms while he stood behind me.

“Yea. That was really, really nice of you. Thank you again. Another thing you really didn’t have to do.” I tried to make sure my words sounded genuine but I felt like they failed at expressing how grateful I truly was. I pulled away from Rick’s arms and walked up to Daryl and stood on my tip toes as I brought my arms around his slightly sweaty frame. I felt his body tense up immediately while we briefly made contact. His arms stayed at his sides and when I pulled away, his face had surprise and a slight look of discomfort to it.

“Sorry, I’m a hugger,” I chuckled nervously. “But really, we appreciate all this,” and I gestured from the lawnmower to the grass and then to the garage behind us.

“It’s no problem…” he mumbled, looking down at the ground.

“Well, I’m gonna drag her away before she tries to hug you again. But before we do that, we’re gonna go fishing this afternoon and we’d like it if you came along.” Rick grabbed my hand to slightly tug me away and I gave Daryl a hopeful look while he thought about the fishing Rick had mentioned.

“Yea…okay. Sounds good,” Daryl nodded. He continued with his trek to the backyard and Rick pulled me along to the front of the house.

“Jeez, baby. Don’t scare him away with all that hugging,” Rick teased as we walked in the front door.

“I couldn’t help it! You know me. When I get all excited, there’s no controlling the level of hugs I give,” and we chuckled together.

Inspired by Daryl’s proactiveness, I went to the kitchen and started to give it a thorough cleaning. I scrubbed the counters and wiped down the stove. I turned on the oven’s self cleaning switch and opened all the windows. After sweeping, I mopped every inch of the tile floor and sat the mop to the side once I finished.

Rick decided to run to the store to get bait for our fishing expedition later and while he was gone, I went upstairs to make our bed and do a little vacuuming. By the time he got back, I had already moved on to dusting the living room. “Damn baby. You get an itch to clean or something?” my man asked while he watched me work across the living room, wiping down each piece of dusty wood with Pledge.

“Kinda. Watching Daryl made me feel like I’ve been lazy lately,” I shrugged at him and went back to work.

“Trust me. The last thing you’ll ever be is lazy,” Rick said, sitting the brown paper bag filled with a tub of worms on the coffee table. “I think Daryl just finished up the backyard, so we’ll probably go here in a bit.” I nodded at him and he ran upstairs, I presume to grab the fishing gear that we had sat in the spare room.

I heard the backdoor swing open and quiet footsteps made their way down the hallway. Then I heard the bathroom door open and shut, the shower coming on quickly after that. Then I heard Rick’s footsteps coming down the stairs and I turned around to see him balancing three rods in one hand while he held the tackle box in the other.

“Everything look okay?” I asked while I polished the last piece I could find.

“Yep. We should be all good. Is that Daryl in the shower?” he asked, nodding towards the downstairs bathroom.

“Nah…that’s the new ghost I forgot to tell you about. He likes to go in the bathroom and cut the shower on for no good reason.” I smiled at him and Rick laughed at my tease and smacked my butt as I walked by, heading towards the kitchen. I put the Pledge back below the sink and sat the dirty rag I had used on top of the washer to throw in with the next load of towels. The oven had finished it’s cleaning cycle and I wiped out all the dust that had been vaporized inside of it. 

I felt immensely better since I had gotten so much accomplished today. Now I knew I would really enjoy going fishing this afternoon. As I wiped out the last bit of the oven, I heard the shower cut off and the bathroom door squeak open. I turned my head just in time to see Daryl walk through the kitchen with the shorts he was wearing in his hand and a towel wrapped around his waist.

I felt myself burn bright and I quickly looked away, like I was seeing him in some kind of indecent manner even though he was actually fully covered. He seemed just as surprised to see me. He must have assumed we were in the living room since the TV was on. “Uh…if you want, you can leave those shorts on the washer and I’ll have ‘em clean for ya tomorrow,” I said quickly, nodding towards the laundry doors that I’d left open.

I kept my eyes on the oven but I saw him nod out of the corner of my eye and he put them on the washer. While his back was turned to me, I took the chance to look at him fully and if my mouth was watering this morning, I was practically slobbering over myself right now. His wet hair was combed and a few droplets of water slid down his tan back. The towel was slung low on his hips and I could just make out the shape of his butt as the terrycloth fabric clung to his damp skin. Even though the towel covered just as much as the shorts, something about this seemed much more intimate and my heart thudded in my chest while I took in every inch of his pleasing form.

There was no doubt about it now. I definitely thought Daryl was hot. The dampness that had worked its way between my legs was a pretty good indication of that. As he turned back, I immediately averted my eyes and continued like I was engrossed by my work. He walked quickly out the back door and once he was gone I dropped the rag that I was holding and rubbed my hands over my face. “Get a grip on yourself, Beth!” I thought over and over again.

Once my heart returned to a normal rhythm, I walked to the living room and plopped down next to Rick. He was going through the tackle box and double checking each reel. He loved to do methodical things like this and I smiled as I watched him. “You missed it earlier,” I said casually, bumping a foot against his thigh.

“Oh? What’s that?” he asked absentmindedly.

“Daryl came out of the bathroom in just a towel,” and I moved my hands in the air sarcastically, like it was a magical moment that I had witnessed.

“Oh really?” he chuckled. “How’d you manage to keep all our clothes on?” he teased. I laughed at him but that didn't stop the flush that rose to my cheeks.

“Who said I did?” I teased right back and crawled over to his side of the couch, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and bringing my lips to his neck.

“Well damn. If he’s that quick, then I really don’t have anything to worry about, do I?” He brought his arms around my waist and flipped me around so I was practically laying in his lap and I had to look up at him.

“Like you ever have anything to worry about…” I whispered and he smiled and brought his luscious, pink lips down to mine. I ran a hand through his dark hair and he did the same with my mess of blonde curls. Our lips parted quickly and our tongues lapped at one another. We continued our short make-out session for a few minutes before we heard the back door swing open and foot steps walk down the hallway.

We broke our last kiss just as Daryl turned the corner into the living room and I slowly sat up from Rick’s lap. “Ready to fish?” I asked in my over-the-top cheerful voice. Daryl gave me a brief nod and Rick and I stood up from the couch.

“Alright, here ya go,” and Rick handed him one of our spare fishing rods. Daryl took it and gave it a quick look over. “Nothing fancy, but it’s caught plenty of fish,” Rick said as he handed me my fishing rod. I remember when we bought these and he wanted to get me some silly pink one that was smaller than all the others. I refused such a ridiculous thing and demanded to have one just like his. My father raised me to do everything just as good as man and I never took the lesser, easier version of anything.

“So where y’all go fishin’ at?” Daryl asked.

“Oh, it’s close by. We actually walk there. C’mon,” I said and our little group headed out the back door. We walked towards the tree line, Leah following at our feet, and I led the way. I followed the trail that traversed the wooded area, a trail that I’ve walked probably 20 or 30 times since I moved in with Rick, and after about a mile or so we came upon the place.


	8. Chapter 8

We walked into the clearing that opened up to show the big lake spread out before us. Since Cedarville’s lake was so large, most people lived pretty close to it. The day was bright and sunny and there was a light breeze in the air. I sat my rod down and stretched my arms wide, leaning my head back and squeezing my eyes shut as I absorbed some of the magnificence of this day.

As I slowly brought my arms back down and opened my eyes, I caught Daryl watching me; he quickly looked away and went back to readying his own fishing line. Rick set mine up for me because I hated putting the worm on the hook and once he handed it to me, I cast it out and sat down at the edge of the water. I had tossed my shoes off and let my toes dip into the coolness of the lake.

I smiled and sighed with happiness. Rick and Daryl cast their lines on either side of me and sat down as well, although they both chose to keep their feet out of the water. Leah walked around behind us and sniffed at the ground frantically, occasionally walking to the water and taking a drink. Eventually she tired herself out and went over to Daryl’s side and plopped down right next to him.

He chuckled a little and patted her head as she started to doze a little in the warm sun. “I think she likes you,” I said to him.

“Yea…she’s a good dog,” he said quietly.

“The best dog. Rick didn’t even wanna keep her when I brought her home,” I said and poked Rick in the side where he sat next to me.

“’Cause she was filthy and covered in fleas. But she looked too pitiful for me to say no,” Rick conceded.

“Guess you got a thing for bringin’ home strays,” Daryl said to me with a small smirk.

“I think I’ve heard those words before,” I said, looking to Rick who just smiled at me. “So when was the last time you fished here?” I asked, turning back to Daryl.

“Hmm…must of been when I was 12 or 13, I s’pose.”

“So it’s been a long time then,” I said, not realizing how bad that sounded until the words had left my mouth. “Oh! I don’t mean how that sounded! I don’t think you’re…”

“Old?” Daryl finished the sentence for me, and I heard Rick muffle a laugh beside me. I turned and smacked my boyfriend on the arm and that only made him laugh more. I sighed and covered my blushing, embarrassed face. “Nah, it’s okay. It’s been awhile.”

“You use to come with your brother and dad? What part did y’all fish at?” I asked after my face returned to its normal complexion.

“Think it was the part that had the long pier with all the benches at the end. Had a spot to hold your fishing rod while you sat. There was an ice cream store right next to the pier. My dad would give us five bucks and we felt like kings when we came back with an armload.” He chuckled and his eyes looked a little far off as he thought about the memory.

“Yea, that was Jones Pier. It was all the way on the other side.” Rick pointed across the lake even though we couldn’t see the other side. “But it got torn down a few years ago. They said it was too unstable. People still ask about it though.”

“That’s a shame…One of the few good memories I have,” Daryl mumbled, looking down at his reel, turning it a few clicks. I leaned over and briefly patted him on the shoulder, earning a small smile from him.

“So…just how old are you then?” I asked curiously. We all started laughing then and it took a few minutes for us to calm back down. I had never seen Daryl laugh that much and I felt something stir inside me while I watched and chuckled with him.

“How old you think I am?” he asked, giving me a look that told me I better step carefully.

I looked to Rick and squinted as I tried to think of an answer. Rick was no help; he just shrugged his shoulders. “Well…I’m not sure. You don’t seem as old as this one over here,” I said, pointing my thumb at Rick.

“Hey! Watch your mouth, little lady,” Rick said indignantly. He reached a hand over and tickled at my neck, making me squirm away with a small shriek. “I’ll have you know Daryl that she was the one who asked me out. Better watch out ‘cause she likes ‘em older.”

I scoffed at Rick and made a big show of rolling my eyes at him. Then I turned back to Daryl and thought for another quick second. “Hmm…I’d say you were thirty…four. Thirty-four.” He looked at me with a small smirk on his face but he didn’t acknowledge if I was right or wrong. “Well? Was I close?” I practically begged.

He waited another minute, probably just to torture me, before he finally answered. “Almost. Thirty-five.”

“Yay! I almost got it right,” I cheered. Leah popped her head up at my loud voice, but quickly dismissed me and laid back down. “Look baby. You’ve only got one year on him,” I teased Rick and poked him on the arm.

“Yea, yea, yea,” my boyfriend said as he rolled his eyes. “Think I can handle the math, baby. I’m not that old.” I chuckled but leaned over and gave him a quick kiss to let him know I was only joking.

“So…how y’all get together then? Such a big age difference and all…” Daryl asked. He scratched his eye as he spoke and looked towards the water, like he was trying to be nonchalant about the question.

“You or me?” Rick asked, looking my way.

“I guess I will,” I replied. We got asked this so much we were used to having to tell the same story over and over. “I was working at the diner and about two years ago, Rick came in for lunch with his partner. I was his waitress and we got to talking. It was just easy. He made me laugh and smile. And I felt like I hadn’t been doing a lot of that right around that time. By the end of that week, he had come back in at least three or four times, but he was always too nervous to ask me out.”

“I wasn’t nervous,” Rick countered. “You were young. Twenty years old and I was scared shitless about that. Fourteen years is a pretty big age difference and this is a small town. It wasn’t gonna be some secret we were able to hide if people saw us out together.”

“Well, I thought that was bullshit,” I said. Daryl and Rick laughed at my cursing. People always did. No one expected bad words to come from such an angelic looking girl. I rolled my eyes at them and kept going. “So I finally just asked him out. Pestered him really. And he soon learned that you can’t say no to me. Not when I’m determined,” and I smiled proudly at Daryl.

“Think I’m learnin’ that myself…” he mumbled.

“Don’t worry. In a week, you’ll just start saying yes to everything,” Rick said to the man on the other side of me. Daryl huffed out a quick laugh and rolled his eyes.

“Anyway, we dated for about a year and then I moved into the house with Rick. Worked out pretty good if I do say so myself.” Leaning over, I gave Rick another brief kiss because the story always made me happy to be with him.

“Can’t imagine your dad was too happy ‘bout that,” Daryl commented quietly.

I groaned and ran hands over my face I remembered the time just before I moved in with Rick. “Oh Lord. Nobody was. My dad, my friends, it was all crazy. Of course, my friends were more upset that I left the church, but Daddy…Daddy was a whole other can of worms. Rick was too old for me. Rick wasn’t the right guy for me. We’d be living in sin. There was always another reason.

“We finally had a heart to heart one day and I just told him that my feelings for Rick weren’t going anywhere and I couldn’t change them if I tried. Told him we were gonna live together whether he liked it or not and that I was growing up and there was nothing he could do about it. He finally gave his blessing after that. My dad’s real traditional so it was hard for him to accept it. He’s still begging me to come back to church.” I shrugged as I stared at the fishing rod in my hands and sighed a little from the memories I had of those troubling times.

“Why’d you leave church then?” Daryl asked, looking at me thoughtfully.

“Uh…it’s kind of hard to say. Mainly, I was just tired of being around all the fire and brimstone. I stopped agreeing with it a long time ago. People were so judgmental and I just couldn’t take it. God is supposed to be understanding and forgiving, but they were damning people left and right for no good reason. Who cares if you’re gay or if you have sex before marriage or stuff like that? They were all hypocrites. Sad thing is that church was all I knew when I was younger, so when I left I lost all my friends. Life changed real quick…” I let my voice trail off.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked left and saw Daryl’s understanding eyes. “Know what it's like for people to judge ya. That’s how you figure out who's worth keeping 'round.” I nodded at him and he took his hand away, leaving me feeling slightly disappointed. Then I felt a tug on my line and I jumped up as I watched my bobber dip below the water. I reeled in slightly and felt a second tug on my line. I let the fish swim back out for a second before I pulled back again.

After a few minutes of back and forth, I finally pulled a big, beautiful fish from the water and I smiled triumphantly. Rick and Daryl gave me a small round of applause while I pulled the hook from its mouth. Rick took the fish from my hands and put him out his misery for me; that was one thing I never had the heart to do. After he put him away, I felt elated at catching the first fish.

“See? Told you I’d win,” I said to Rick, only with a hint of smugness to my voice. He chuckled and wrapped me up in his arms.

“Oh really? Care to make this interesting, Ms. Greene?” he asked.

“Hmmm…what are we wagering?” I countered, giving him a suspicious look.

“Let’s see…whoever catches the most fish gets to sit back while the other two cook dinner tonight,” Rick said with a mischievous twinkle to his eye.

“Is that all?” I asked, giving him one of my looks that meant I was hoping for something sexier than that. But then again, considering our company we couldn’t really wager blowjobs or sex.

“For now,” Rick winked. He spun me around to face Daryl and I felt a quick pinch to my rear that made me smirk. “How’s that sound to you Daryl?”

“Up to y’all. I’m jus’ along for the ride,” he shrugged. But he had a look to his eyes that said maybe he was a little more skilled at this than we thought. All three of us went back to our fishing rods and assumed our previous positions. We spent the next 3 hours by the lake, chitchatting occasionally, but mainly we just enjoyed the peacefulness and rejoiced each time one of us got a bite.

By the end of it, I ended up with the most fish at five, Daryl had caught four, and Rick only managed to catch three. Daryl would have tied with me if he hadn’t thrown one back that he said was too small. Even so, he gave me a small wink as he let the fish swim away. I knew he was letting me win, but I still bragged as much as I could to Rick who would just laugh and wave me away.

We trekked back to the house and I sat back at the kitchen table and drank a beer while the men worked on cleaning up the fish. They kept bumping into one another and each time they did, I had a good laugh and clapped my hands at their gracefulness. Both men eventually gave me the finger which only caused me to laugh harder but I finally stopped teasing them. Daryl fried up the fish while Rick made the sides and I grabbed the plates and silverware.

Once everything was ready, we settled down at the table and ate a proper dinner which felt really nice. Me and Rick never ate at the table anymore and with an extra person, this kind of felt like a home rather than just us two shacking up together. The food tasted amazing and I knew I couldn’t have made this any better than either two of the men who sat next to me. “Mmmm,” I sighed between bites. “I think I could get used to this. Two men cooking for me while I sit back and watch. You guys can do this every night, right?”

“Oh, don’t bet on it baby,” Rick replied with a wink.

“Yea, my cooking ain’t that great. Fish and deer ‘bout the only thing I can make,” Daryl said as he finished off his plate.

“You a big hunter?” Rick asked from the other side of the table.

“I guess so,” Daryl shrugged. “Been awhile though. You?”

“It’s been a long time. Maybe ten years. Use to go with my cousins, but when I moved here, we lost touch. Still got all my gear though.”

“Don’t listen to him, Daryl. Rick isn’t that much of an outdoorsman,” I teased my boyfriend. Under the table I ran my foot up his leg and rested it in his lap. He scoffed at me and tried to tickle my heel before I yanked it away.

“Yea? For the best, maybe. Doubt your pretty lil’ head could handle watchin’ him clean a kill,” Daryl mumbled towards me as he smiled slyly at Rick. My boyfriend laughed at Daryl’s words and I blushed a little at Daryl’s tease.

“Oh please!” I cried out as I stood up and grabbed the plates from the table. “I’ll have you know that my Daddy went hunting all the time and he always cleaned the kill at the house. I’ve eaten my fair share of deer meat, thank you very much.” I spoke almost a little too curtly, but I didn’t want Daryl to think I was some weak, vulnerable girl who couldn’t take the sight of a dead deer. Although, when my dad did bring a kill home, I always ran into the woods because I couldn’t stop thinking that he was slaughtering Bambi.

“Alright, alright. Ain’t tryin’ to start nothin’,” Daryl said as he held up his arms innocently.

“Better not be,” and I gave him the meanest fake scowl I could muster. It must have been pretty bad because both men cracked up at me and I just rolled my eyes and finished filling the dishwasher. Once the kitchen was clear, Daryl decided to take his leave, nabbing this morning’s newspaper before he headed out the backdoor. I guess he didn’t have too much to do up in that empty room.

Rick and I walked down the hallway and just as he turned to head for the living room, I grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the stairs. “Where you taking me?” he asked with a sly smile.

“Oh, we’ve got a bet to settle,” I answered and we made our way up to the bedroom.

He shut the bedroom door behind us and I laid on the bed, propping myself up on my elbow. “Bet? I thought we settled that in the kitchen,” he smiled.

“You know better than that, Rick Grimes. I caught two more fish than you. I think that means…” I thought for a second as I tapped my fingers against the side of my mouth. “You owe me two orgasms,” I finally decided.

“Oh, really? Well, how would you like these orgasms delivered?” he asked as he walked towards the bed.

“Uh-uh,” I held my hand up to stop his movements. “Clothes. Off.”

He grinned at me and brought his thick, masculine hands to the hem of his shirt and slowly dragged it up. He pulled the tee over his head and tossed it in the hamper. Sometimes I was still surprised at how much I still got butterflies with Rick. Right now, my stomach was all aflutter and a small blush crept up my chest.

He brought his hands to his belt and quickly undid it, pulling the button loose and the zipper down on his pants. Hooking his thumbs on the waistband of his jeans, he pulled the denim down to his ankles, along with his boxers. He stepped out of them and kicked them aside. His cock was already half hard and I licked my lips at the thought of tasting him. I liked the idea so much that I laid back on the bed and scooted towards the edge, letting my head dip off the side a little.

Rick was now upside down in my vision, but I smiled and curled my finger at him, wordlessly telling him to come here. He walked towards me and our bed was just the right height so that his cock was right at my mouth. I licked my lips again before I opened my mouth and used my tongue to swirl at the head of his half-stiff length.

I brought a hand back and gave him a few strokes and within a matter of seconds he was fully erect and he groaned a little as I continued to give him small, teasing licks. Then I put both hands on his hips and opened my mouth wider as I pulled his body forward and half of his hard cock dipped past my lips. I continued to swirl my tongue and started to suck as I pushed and pulled him in and out of my warm, wet mouth.

“Fuck, baby. You’re so sexy like this,” Rick groaned. He reached his hands down and pulled my shirt up, exposing my bra. He pulled the thin cups to the side and ran both hands across my breasts, lightly tweaking my nipples. Then he skimmed his fingers down my stomach until he hit the waistband of my jeans and he quickly unbuttoned them and slid a hand inside, past my panties.

He swirled his middle finger over my clit and then dipped it further. “Mmm…baby, you’re so wet,” he whispered.

I popped his cock that I was still sucking from my mouth and said, “It’s all for you, baby.” I knew he smiled even though I couldn’t see his face. I went to go back to working my mouth along his hardness, but he pulled his hips away from my head and I felt his hand slip from my pants as well. Then he grabbed me by my knees and whipped my entire body around the bed, so now I was facing him.

I laughed at his maneuvering but stopped once he started to pull my pants down my hips. He tugged my underwear off too and spread my legs as he got down on his knees. “I gotta taste you baby,” he mumbled just before he ran the tip of his tongue teasingly along my swollen lips. Then he parted me and lapped at my clit, steadily licking and sucking at the sensitive bud. I gripped the sheet beneath me and tried to hold my hips still as my breath hitched in my throat.

While he worked his beautiful mouth, I felt him dip one finger, then two, into my wetness and started to work them in time with his tongue. Only a minute later, I felt myself teetering on the edge of an intense orgasm. “Baby…harder…please…” I begged Rick between moans.

He listened and drummed his fingers into me, all the way up to his knuckles. That was all I needed and I felt wave after wave of pleasure crash over me. I cried out Rick’s name as I threw my head back into the mattress and practically pulled the sheet up I was gripping it so hard. Rick slowed his movements and pulled his fingers out, kissing his way up my body.

As I caught my breath, he tugged my shirt off the rest of the way and unclasped my bra, gently pulling it off. He wrapped his arms around my waist and tugged me up the bed. Laying down on top of me, he brought his lips to mine and I could smell and taste myself on him. I licked at his lips and mouth, trying to mop up every bit of wetness I had left on him.

He smiled, spread my legs, and lined up the head of his thick cock at my entrance. He pushed in and I groaned loudly, gripping his shoulders and digging in my nails. Rick didn’t waste any time at setting a steady pace and raised onto his knees while bringing my ankles to his shoulders. My hands clenched the headboard behind me and I was practically shouting Rick’s name as he thrust into me.

“Oh fuck baby…just like that…don’t stop…I’m gonna come!” I moaned through clenched teeth. The angle was just right and I smiled as I felt the warmth of my orgasm spread through all my limbs. I couldn’t always have one without touching my clit, but when Rick fucked me just right, he could get me there. I saw a look of triumph spread across his face as he watched me come undone and I moaned incoherent words until my pulsating pleasure subsided.

I brought my exhausted legs down and Rick laid back down on top of me while he continued to thrust his hips. I could tell he was getting close and I suddenly got an urge to help him along. I sucked one of my fingers into my mouth and quickly got it wet. Then I put my hands on his hips and slowly reached behind him and found his back entrance.

The way his eyes got wide told me he wasn’t expecting the intrusion, but I worked my slick finger in a circle until he let me through. I pushed the finger in up to my knuckle and slowly fucked him with it while he pushed into me. His eyes started to roll back in his head and I whispered in his ear, “That’s it. Come for me, baby.”

As soon as I spoke, he grunted and buried his head in my neck as he pumped deep into me a few more times. I gently pulled my finger out and slowly rubbed his back while he let his heartbeat return to a normal pace. After a minute, he rolled off of me and to his side. He then turned me onto my side and wrapped his arms around me. I snuggled into him and sighed in utter satisfaction.

“Is that bet settled now?” he asked in a sleepy voice.

“Oh yea. You did good, baby.” I patted his hand and felt him smile against my neck.

“You weren’t too bad yourself. What brought that on? You haven’t done that in awhile.” I knew he was talking about the finger and I chuckled a little. When we first got together, I had never done anything kinky like that, but Rick had mentioned it offhandedly one day and I told him to show me how. He talked me through it and once I saw how much he liked it, I decided to add it to our repertoire. We didn’t do it too often, usually only when we were feeling extra frisky.

“I don’t know. Maybe I thought you needed it.” He just chuckled at my words and pulled me in closer as we dozed off, blissed out of our minds. 


	9. Chapter 9

I pulled into the driveway the next night right around six and let out a sigh of exhaustion. I cut the engine and practically dragged myself out of the car and walked slowly into the house. Today had been a long day. Not only had we been busy, but Darlene’s son got the stomach flu and she had to call out, so Lee ended up making me work a double shift. Luanne finally let me leave after the dinner rush had died down and I’m surprised I didn’t fall asleep behind the wheel while I was driving home.

Tossing my bag down, I trudged to the living room where Rick was sitting on the couch eating pizza. He sat the box on the coffee table and I lazily grabbed a slice as I plopped down on the sofa next to him. He gave me a brief kiss before I started shoving the food into my face. It had been busy enough today that I hardly had any down time, and that meant I only managed to eat a sandwich in bites between customers.

“How was your day, baby?” he asked. I just shrugged at him. I didn’t really have a lot of energy to talk but I knew he would just keep asking if I didn’t answer. We only talked once today when I briefly called him to tell him about working late and that he should figure something out for dinner. Of course, he did the man thing and ordered pizza, but I was too tired to complain.

“Fine. Really busy,” I mumbled between bites.

He rubbed a hand through my hair and looked at me thoughtfully. I think he could tell I wasn’t in a talkative mood because he didn’t say anything after that. Once I had eaten, I laid down on the couch and put my head in Rick’s lap. He combed his fingers through my hair and I sighed as I felt my muscles relax under his wonderful hands.

After awhile, I realized that our roommate was missing and I hadn’t seen him all day. “Daryl?” I questioned, looking briefly up at Rick.

“He grabbed a couple slices and went back to his room. Said he’s reading through this manual on how to fix some engine at the garage. Oh, I gave him that old radio that we had sitting in the spare room upstairs. Figured he needed something to listen to up there.”

I nodded my head in his lap and then looked back towards the TV. A few minutes later, the annoying ring of my cellphone echoed from my purse throughout the room. I groaned as I dragged myself up from the couch and walked over to my bag to dig it out. After a search that seemed to take forever, I finally pulled my phone free and answered it. “Hello?”

“Hey, Sissy.” My sister sounded very cheerful on the other end.

“Hey Maggie,” I said back although my voice was much more sedate compared to hers.

“How’re you?”

“Fine. You?”

“I’m good. Maybe better than good. I got a new guy I wanna introduce you to,” she said excitedly.

“Yea, Daddy told me. We’ll be at dinner on Wednesday night.”

“Oh good! That’s why I was calling. I just wanted to double check who all was gonna be there. Figure out how much to cook.” As she spoke, I remembered I was bringing Daryl too, who was an extra mouth to feed.

“In that case, I’m bringing a friend too. So the head count should be…six,” I said, counting each person on my fingers.

“Who’s your friend?” she asked curiously.

“Someone that Daddy helped get a job. I’d thought it would be a good way for my friend to tell him thank you.” I skirted around telling her that my friend was, in fact, male and that he was also living with us. If I told her now, she’d just bug me for all the details and I was certainly not in the mood for that right now.

“Okay…”

“So what’re you making?” I asked to change the subject.

“Oh! I was thinking lasagna with a salad and some bread. Does that sound good?” She sounded nervous, like she was really putting a lot into this one dinner.

"That sounds fine. No need to overdo it.”

“Yea, yea, yea. Well I gotta go, but I love you!” she cried into the phone.

“I love you too,” I said back. Soon after we hung up and I crawled back into Rick’s lap, and briefed him on my phone conversation.

“Well, hopefully it’ll be a good night,” he said, going back to stroking my hair.

“I’m sure it will be. Hey, did you do that check on Daryl?” I asked. I just remembered that he hadn’t said anything about it and I wondered if maybe he forgot.

“Yep,” he nodded. “I was gonna wait until you felt more up to talking, but there’s not much to tell. Looks like he lived only a few counties away, but there’s no indication of why he’d come here. He has a few arrests under his belt, but nothing serious. Some drunk and disorderlies from a few years ago. He seems okay.”

“See? Didn’t I tell you?” I said, looking up at him with a smug smile. He tickled my neck a little and I pulled away before he stopped and I settled back in.

“Yes, you did,” he conceded. “You know I trust your judgment. I just like to double check.”

“I know baby. And I love you for it.” I yawned in his lap and not too much longer, I started to doze off. Eventually, he picked me up and carried me upstairs. I felt him undress me from the work uniform I hadn’t had the energy to pull off when I got home. He tugged a tank top on me and then tucked me into bed where I fell asleep just as quickly as I had on the couch.

The next day didn’t go any better. About an hour after I opened the diner, Darlene called and begged me to cover her shift again today. Her son was still puking his guts up and she just didn’t have the heart to leave him. I begrudgingly agreed and worked the diner all on my own until late in the afternoon. Thankfully, the night was slow and Luanne agreed to let me head out around five. I pulled into my driveway and felt pretty tired, but not quite as bad as yesterday.

When I walked inside, I saw Rick and Daryl sitting in the living room playing cards and eating Chinese food. I sighed because Rick had ordered in again and we weren’t made of money. Even though it was easier to order out, it was always more expensive too and I had hoped that he would cook something tonight. As I tossed my bag down, I sat next to Rick on the couch and sighed at him. “You know, when I say to figure something out for dinner, that doesn’t always mean to order something,” I whined to my boyfriend.

“Does that mean you don’t want any sesame chicken?” he asked, waving a styrofoam container in front of my face. My stomach growled as I smelled the sweet and tangy chicken and I grabbed it from Rick’s hands, sticking my tongue out at him. “Uh-huh. That’s what I thought,” he said with a smile as I stuffed my mouth full of the delicious, greasy Chinese food.

“So, what’re y’all playing?” I asked between forkfuls of fried rice.

“Well, we started off with blackjack, but Rick kept losing so we switched to five card stud,” Daryl said with a smirk.

“Hey, I wasn’t doing that bad…” Rick muttered in a defeated voice. I smiled at both men and kept eating.

“You guys wanna play rummy?” I asked once they finished the next hand.

“Oh no. Don’t play rummy with this girl. She’ll wipe the floor with ya,” Rick said, pointing to me.

Daryl looked at me with squinted eyes for a second before he said, “Nah…Let’s see what she’s got.”

“Alright, but you’ll be sorry…” Rick teased.

“Okay, hang on. I’ll be right back. I wanna change.” I ran upstairs and pulled my uniform off, tossing it in the hamper. After I changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top, I ran back downstairs and walked to the kitchen. “Baby, you want a beer?” I called from the refrigerator. I heard Rick yell a short affirmative response from the living room and as I turned from the fridge, I ran right into Daryl. My chest bumped into him and I looked up surprised.

“Oh, sorry ‘bout that,” he mumbled, placing his hands on my shoulders. I looked up into his face and got that tingly feeling again.

“Oh, it’s alright. I was bringing you one too. You didn’t have to get up,” I joked. I lifted my hands and showed him the beers I was holding.

“Oh, thanks…” he mumbled. We stood there for a minute longer, his hands on my shoulders and my eyes looking into his. I felt my face start to heat up and I knew I needed to make some space between us and fast. I stepped back and ended up walking all the way around him to get to the hallway. I walked briskly to the living room and sat down next to Rick and gave him his beer. Daryl had followed closely behind me and I sat his beer down in front of him and he just gave me a brief nod before he looked away.

Taking a big gulp from my bottle, Rick shuffled and dealt the cards for the next game. I tried to shake the feelings from the kitchen off, but I must have still had trace amounts of what had happened on my face because Rick gave me a concerned look. “You okay, baby?” he asked, rubbing his hand on my knee.

“Yea, I’m good,” I nodded. “You better be ready to have your butt handed to you,” and I gave him a wink. He quickly laughed and we settled into our game. We played cards for the next couple hours before I was too tired to play another round. Even so, I ended up winning and rubbed it smugly into both men’s faces. They rolled their eyes at my gloating and brushed me away. Daryl ended up heading to his room afterwards and I convinced Rick to come to bed with me even though it was still a little early.

As we settled beneath our bedspread, I cuddled up to Rick and laid my head on his chest and tangled our legs together. He placed a kiss onto my head and soothingly rubbed my back. “Were you okay tonight? You seemed a little off when you came back from the kitchen,” Rick said quietly into our dark bedroom.

“Yea…I was fine,” I mumbled. I wasn’t sure how to bring up the fact that I felt strange things around our new roommate, especially when I wasn’t sure how he was going to react to it. “Daryl just scared me in the kitchen…”

“Okay. If you’re sure…” Rick whispered. He kissed my head again and I started to drift off to sleep.

Waking up covered in sweat, I glanced at the clock and groaned inwardly because I'd only been asleep about an hour. I kicked off the covers, trying to seek comfort from the heat. Georgia weather drove me crazy sometimes and the fact that I could be sweating in bed in late September made me sigh in frustration. I glanced over at Rick and he had already kicked his part of the blanket off. I nudged him gently to see if he was awake and he wiggled slightly. I poked my elbow into his side one more time before he groaned loudly. “What?” he said sharply.

“Aren’t you hot?” I asked in the poutiest voice I could muster. “Will you go turn the air on?”

He groaned into his pillow and reached his hand around to smack my butt. “Why don’t you just open the windows? There’s supposed to be a breeze tonight…” he muttered sleepily.

“Fine…” I sighed. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and slowly pulled myself up and stumbled over to our windows. I opened the one that faced the front yard and smiled in relief as a light breeze brushed against my skin. I walked over to the other window and slid it open as well. This one faced the garage and I leaned my head out and sighed as the breeze continued to blow and dry the droplets of sweat on me. Looking up at the clear sky above, I watched as the clouds floated by to reveal a beautiful, bright moon.

As I was about to head back to the bed, I noticed a light out of the corner of my eye and I looked left and saw the window that opened into the room above the garage. Our windows didn’t line up so I could only see into it at an angle, but this angle happened to look at Daryl’s bed that I had positioned in the corner of the room. With the glow of his light, I could see him clearly and what I saw caused my heart to double its pace and my breath to catch in my throat.

I squinted my eyes to make sure what I was seeing was right and when I was sure, I gasped and whispered, “Oh my god…” Daryl was laying on his bed, completely naked, and he was stroking a full erection he had standing straight up from his hips. His body looked lean and tan while his cock looked long with a slight curve to it. My mouth practically dropped to the floor as I felt my core go up in flames at the erotic image I was seeing.

“What?” I heard Rick ask from the bed. My mouth was frozen in place and I couldn’t find any words to answer him. There was a rustling behind me and a few seconds later, I felt a warm body come to stand next to me. Rick leaned his head out next to mine and turned in the direction that currently held my attention. “Oh…well then,” Rick said with wide eyes. “Wasn’t expecting to see that tonight…”

“Oh…this is so bad…” I whispered and I covered up my eyes. I heard Rick chuckle next to me and he wrapped his arms around my waist and brought a kiss to my neck. He grabbed my arms and pulled them back down.

“Well, it ain’t that bad. I certainly wasn’t expecting anything that big…”

“Rick!” I hissed and smacked his head as he kept kissing at my neck.

“Stop acting like that don’t turn you on,” he whispered in my ear. I bit my lip as he spoke because I knew that he was right. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the window while I watched Daryl stroke himself from base to tip and I squeezed my thighs together to find some kind of relief. The only thing I was missing was Daryl’s face. The way the window was angled, I only saw Daryl from the neck down and while the view was amazing, I would give anything to see his face wracked with pleasure.

I sighed as I gripped the windowsill beneath my hands. Then I felt Rick slip a hand into my panties and dip a finger into my wetness, causing a shiver to shoot up my spine.

“Damn baby...you’re pussy ‘s soaking wet,” and he pulled his hand away, only to tug my underwear down to my ankles. He pulled my hips back and got down on his knees and started teasing my clit with his thumb, rubbing it side to side.

I groaned quietly and felt pleasing warmth spread throughout my body. “Baby, this is so bad…” I mumbled again but I couldn’t stop myself from arching my back and pushing my hips further into his hand. While he rubbed at my sensitive bud, I felt his other hand run up my thigh and then he slipped a finger inside of me and I had to bite my lip to keep from moaning out loud.

Leaning against the window, I felt my pleasure building as I watched Daryl rub himself. He brought his hand up to his mouth and brought it back down to his long, hard length and I saw what must have been spit glimmer from the head of his cock while he rubbed the lubricant down his shaft. He held one hand at the base while he wrapped the other at his rounded head and jerked up and down.

I was panting now and practically riding Rick’s hand as he pushed his fingers into me. Going even harder, he found my sweet spot and I knew I was so close to coming undone. I brought my hands up and gripped the sides of the window and held my breath, holding off my orgasm until just the right moment.

Then, not a second later, I saw the pearly white liquid spurt from the head of Daryl’s cock and he jerked his hips as he poured his load onto his stomach. That was what I wanted and with that image, I felt myself practically shatter as my orgasm ripped through my body. My legs went out from under me, but Rick held tight as he continued to rub my clit, making my limbs spasm from the aftershocks that jolted me every few seconds.

Slumping into my boyfriend, he rocked me gently as he kissed my head. My hands rested on his knees and a huge wave of guilt washed over as I realized he just got me off to watching another man. “That was wrong, baby…” I mumbled.

“Why? You liked it and he was jerking off with his window open and his light on. Not like he was trying real hard to hide anything, baby.”

“You think he wanted us to see?” I asked, sitting up and turning to look at my lover.

“I don’t know about that, but there are plenty of private ways to do that. The shower, in the dark, when we’re not home. I doubt he’d be shocked if he knew we saw him. C’mon. Back to bed.” He stood and held out a hand to help me up. I took it and once I was to my feet, he leaned over and pulled my panties back up, making me smile.

I looked out the window one more time and saw that Daryl’s light was off, so he must have gone to sleep. Rick pulled me back to the bed and it was cool enough now to use the covers again. As I went back to sleep, I couldn’t help but think about Daryl and what his face must look like when he comes and if he really did want an audience tonight.


	10. Chapter 10

When I rolled over in bed the next morning and peeked my eyes open at the clock, it read just after nine. Groaning, I stretched out across the empty bed for a minute as I tried to remember if I had heard Rick leave for work. I vaguely recalled him kissing my forehead before I turned over and went back to sleep.

After making a quick stop in the bathroom, I headed downstairs and made myself a cup of coffee. Leah circled around my feet, her way of asking to go outside, and I walked over to the backdoor and opened it for her. I stepped out with her and took in the state of the morning. It was beautiful with the sun shining, but it wasn’t hot because there was a breeze in the air. I loved days like today.

Once Leah did her business, we went back inside and I grabbed the paper that Rick had left on the kitchen table and made my way to the front porch. Leah followed me out and settled at my feet while I sat on the porch swing, tucking one leg underneath me and using the other foot to rock myself back and forth.  I sipped my coffee and read through the front page news stories, mostly skimming over articles until certain paragraphs caught my attention.

After a few minutes, I heard footsteps coming from the garage and when I glanced up I noticed that Daryl’s bike was still in the driveway. It sat there all alone since Rick had taken his truck to work and I could actually park my car in the garage now. Daryl turned the corner and I saw him walking towards the front porch. He raised his eyebrows a little when he saw me, I guess he wasn’t expecting me to be sitting out here. “Morning,” I said as he walked up the steps.

“Mornin’,” he mumbled. “Off today?”

I nodded to him and took another sip from my mug. “You?” I asked afterwards.

“Yea…schedule’s gonna be weird until Kyle can figure out where he needs me.”

I nodded again and he pulled the screen door open to head inside. Leah jumped up and followed his footsteps into the house. After he walked away, the images I had seen last night flashed across my mind and I felt my face heat up. I had almost forgotten about it until I saw him walking across the front yard. It was one of the more erotic things I had seen in quite some time, but I still felt kind of guilty about it, even after Rick’s assurances.

I tried to brush the thoughts away and get my face back to its natural state, turning my attention back to the paper. I flipped to the entertainment section and started reading about the next town festival when the screen door opened again and Daryl stepped back out with his own cup of coffee, Leah along with him. He was about to walk down the steps when he stopped and looked to me. “Ya wouldn’t happen to be readin’ the sports section, would ya?” he asked, scratching his head and looking down at the porch.

“Uh-uh. Here ya go.” I pulled the pages out and handed it to him. He leaned over to grab it and gave me a short nod. He turned to go when I looked over next to me at the empty spot at the other end of the swing. “You can sit here with me, if you want. It’s a nice day out. You don’t have to stay cooped up in that room all day.”

He stood at the top of the steps for a second, looking at the pages in his hand, before he seemed to decide. “Yea, okay.” He headed over to the swing and sat down at the other end, leaving about a foot of space between us. Leah walked over and actually jumped up onto the swing and settled into the space between us. She rested her head on Daryl’s leg and he smiled as he scratched her between the ears.

Seeing this rough man in his leather vest petting the dog that cuddled up to him was a really sweet, if not unexpected, image. “I think she likes you more than she likes me now,” I said to him. He only chuckled and opened up the sports section to read. We sat there, the swing rocking steadily back and forth, and read for the next half hour. When I finished a section, I absentmindedly handed him the finished pages and he read through them after me.

Once I finished reading and had drained the last dregs of my coffee, I decided to get a refill. “Want more?” I asked Daryl as I stood from the swing.

“When you gonna stop gettin’ me coffee?” he asked, the side of his mouth turning up.

“When I choose to,” I said with a smug smile and I grabbed his empty mug and ran to get us both a refill. I walked back to the porch with two full mugs and handed his back to him as I sat down in my original spot. He gave me a small thank you as he read the last section of the paper. I sipped my own cup as I watched the world around me and absentmindedly rubbed Leah’s back.

When he finished his reading, he sat all the pages I had given down by his feet and looked over to me. I smiled at him but remained silent. Sometimes I didn’t feel like being the first one talk. “So…what do you usually do on your days off?” he finally asked.

“Uh…it depends. Usually I’ll go see my dad, but I’ll see him tonight. Clean the house, read a book, things like that.”

“Sounds like you really live it up,” he teased. I snorted out a laugh and rolled my eyes.

“Because there’s so much to do around here, right? Even if there was, my car probably couldn’t make it far enough to get there. But it does get kinda boring…” I conceded with a shrug.

“Lived here all your life then?”

“Yep. Only ever went anywhere else for church trips. Lost my mama when I was real young, so it was just my dad raising me and my sister. Poor guy, he had no clue,” I chuckled. I looked over at him then and saw that he had been watching me. Our eyes met and for a second we didn’t say anything as I started to get that same feeling again. The feeling of doing something wrong but still being unable to control the excitement that built up in the pit of my stomach. “So…why’d you come here? What was it that you needed to get away from?”

Daryl’s eyes darted away once the questions left my mouth and he rubbed his hands on his knees while he thought. Finally, instead of answering my questions, he asked one of his own. “You wanna get outta here?”

“And go where?” I asked incredulously.

“Anywhere. Jus’ ride.”

“On what? Your bike?”

“Yea. C’mon. Go change. You’ll like it,” he said as he stood up from the swing, causing it to rock back and forth as I thought about his proposal.

“Do you even have a second helmet?”  

“Think I’d let you ride my bike without a helmet? Rick would kick my ass.” I laughed at his words because it was true.

“Okay. Be back in a second.” I hopped up off the swing and ran inside. As I climbed the stairs, another burst of excitement made its way through my stomach. I exchanged my yoga pants for a pair of jeans and pulled on a white t-shirt. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and decided to pull my hair into a side braid so the wind didn’t do anything too crazy with it.

After throwing on some shoes, I made my way back downstairs and grabbed my cellphone and house keys before heading back outside. Daryl was already in the driveway getting the bike set. As I walked up to him, he handed me a helmet that he pulled from one of his small saddlebags. “You have a helmet in there but didn’t bother to grab any extra clothes before coming here?” I asked him with slightly suspicious eyes.

He pulled on his own helmet and rolled his eyes at me before he climbed onto the bike. “Jus’ get on and stop asking so many questions,” he said with a wink. I sighed but threw my leg over the bike and settled behind Daryl. I felt a little weird about where to put hands to hang on. His shoulders were a little too high so I sat them lightly on his waist and he started the bike and pulled us out of the driveway.

My hands were of little concern once he got going though because soon I was holding tight to his waist as I laughed in the wind that whipped around my face. This was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. He drove us all over town and then hit one of the country roads that headed north. Sometimes he would speed up just to make me squeal and I’d hang on to him extra tight and feel his body quake with laughter.

After about an hour, he pulled off at a roadside store that had an ice cream stand and picnic tables sitting next to it. I went to go find a bathroom and when I came back Daryl had two cones of ice cream in his hands, once chocolate and one vanilla. A big grin spread across my face as I walked up to this tough looking man holding dripping cones in his hands. “Didn’t know which one you’d want, so I got one of each,” he mumbled.

“Well, thank you!” I cried out and I went straight for the chocolate. We made our way over to a picnic table and sat down as we licked at the deliciously cold treats in our hands. Once I had gotten most of the top eaten and threats of dripping had ceased, I looked at Daryl and squinted my eyes. “So…why did you come here then?”

He rolled his eyes and sighed. “You like a dog with a bone, girl…” he muttered.

“I’m just curious is all. What? I ain’t earned your trust yet?” I asked him wide eyed. I had gotten this man a job and given him a place to stay. If I hadn’t gotten his trust by now, then there really was something that he was hiding from me.

“Fine…” and he bit into his cone. After he chewed for a second, he finally spoke. “I was stayin’ with my brother in Fulton County. He knows some pretty bad guys. Works for ‘em really. He had to do this job for ‘em and it went south. Told him not to do it. Didn’t listen to me, did it anyway, got into it with those guys. They came around my job, tossed some threats around, said his debt was my debt. Merle was workin’ on payin’ ‘em off when I left. Knew I didn’t need to be 'round that shit. When I told him I was goin’, things got rough. Didn’t really have time to grab much of nothin’. Left with my bike and the clothes on my back…” Daryl’s voice trailed off and he looked down at the picnic table, like he was too shamefaced to look me in the eye after telling me those things.

“So Merle’s your brother?” I asked cautiously. I didn’t want to delve too deep, but I also didn’t want to lose the chance to talk to him like this when he was willing to be so open. Daryl nodded in response and I thought for a minute about what to ask next. “What kind of work was it?”

He leveled his gaze at me then and gave me an exasperated look. “Kind you don’t talk ‘bout,” and he left it at that.

“And so you decided to come to Cedarville?”

Daryl shrugged as he finished up his cone. “Couldn’t really think of anywhere else to go. This is the last place that I ever felt somethin’ like...happiness or peacefullness, I s’pose.”

“Is he looking for you then?” I gave him one of my serious looks and he could tell that I was a little worried.

“Maybe. But he wouldn’t think to look here. Been so long, I doubt he’d even ‘member this place.”  I exhaled a little at his response and some of my worry slipped away. “Now talk ‘bout somethin’ else, please.”

I smiled when he added the please on the end. Daryl Dixon didn’t look like the kind of man who said please too often. “Like what?”

He thought for a second and then he asked, “Why Rick? You’re so young and... why a guy who’s got over a decade on you?”

I sighed and just shook my head at him. Why did people always want to know this kind of stuff? “Why not Rick? Something wrong with him?” I asked accusingly.

“Nah, not what I’m sayin’,” he replied quickly, hands held up in defense. “He’s a good guy. Better than most. Jus’ wonderin’ why, s’all.” He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one, making sure to blow the smoke away.

“Those’ll kill you, ya know,” I said to him and he gave me the finger. I laughed at his gesture and then sighed again as I resigned myself to answering his question. “Well…I guess I was looking for something completely different than what I had been with my whole life. I had only dated this guy named Jimmy up until that point. Been with him for years and years and everyone said we’d stay together forever. But he went the way of the church and I knew I wasn’t going that way.

“There’s nothing wrong with that or with Jimmy. He was a good guy. A little on the jealous side, which was a pain, but all in all he wasn’t bad. When I finally broke things off, I started working at the diner. Just awhile later I met Rick…and everything was different!” I said with a bright smile and I felt my face heat up a little as I thought about our first few months together. It was a whirlwind and we couldn’t keep our hands off each other. We’d find just about any place we could to have sex, no matter the time of day.

“So he rocked in the sack, then?” Daryl asked with a knowing smile.

“Rocked? No past tense needed. He rocks in the sack,” I replied and now I knew that my face was on fire. Daryl actually laughed at what I said and he took a second to compose himself. “But yes, he was great in bed. And it wasn’t just that. Compared to Jimmy, he was so open and understanding. I could say anything to him and Rick would never judge me. Jimmy was always damning one thing or another and I got tired of it. I knew that he was older and that my dad was gonna have a fit, but I didn’t care. I fell in love.” I shrugged at the man sitting across from me to let him know that my story was over.

He blew out the last puff of his smoke and leaned down to put it out on the cement below him. “Well, you two seem real good together…” he mumbled. He stood up and threw the butt in the trashcan and stretched his arms. “You ‘bout ready to head back?”

I felt a little bit of sadness seep its way into my body because Daryl had gone back to being closed off like he was before. Like my words had shut something down in him and I didn’t like that one bit. But I wasn’t really in the position to ask him more questions, so I just gave him a nod and we headed back out on the road. About ten minutes before we got home, dark clouds rolled in and before we knew it, it started to pour down rain on top of us. I cursed this Georgia weather and we rode the last bit getting soaked to the gills.

I hid my face into Daryl’s back to keep most of the droplets from stinging my cheeks, but my arms took a bit of a beating. Once we finally pulled into the driveway, I told Daryl to pull the bike into the garage. My car didn’t take up all the space and there was still enough for him to bring the bike in and park it so we wouldn’t be climbing off in a downpour. I got off first and pulled the helmet from head and sat it down.

My braid was dripping wet and tried to wring some of the water out. I thought about how I had a spare towel in my trunk and I went and grabbed it. I ran it through my hair while Daryl shrugged out of his vest and tried to shake the water from the leather. He hung it up on a hook and looked over at me. His eyes widened a little bit and he looked down quickly before looking back up and pointing towards my chest.

I looked down and finally realized that my white t-shirt had been soaked through and I was only wearing one of my lightweight cotton bras. So while the t-shirt clung to me, it was completely see through, as was my bra and you could see a faint outline of my pink nipples which had puckered from the water. I was basically giving the man in front of me a free show.

I gasped quickly and brought the towel to my front and covered myself but that didn’t stop my face from turning bright red. At first Daryl tried to be polite, but he ended up laughing anyways and I ran over and smacked his arm. He held up his hands like he was innocent and yelled, “Hey! I wasn’t starin’. Cut me some slack! Not my fault you got somethin’ worth lookin’ at…”

“Yea, yea, yea,” I said, brushing off his last comment. “Hey, while we’re being all honest and stuff…Rick may have ran a quick check on you to make sure I wasn’t letting an axe murderer stay in our house.”

He looked at me and nodded while he pulled his cigarettes from his back pocket. “Yea…Figured that would happen. Find anythin’ interestin’?” he asked.

“No, why? Should he have?” I asked suspiciously, squinting my eyes at him.

“Nah…Try to stay out of trouble. I like my privacy.” He lit up a cigarette and suddenly I thought of last night and how we had watched him.

Before I could even stop myself, the words flew out of my mouth. “Well…if that’s the case, then maybe you should turn off your lights at night...I…uh…I saw you last night. I got up to open the windows and I saw…” my voice trailed off and I bit my lip as I looked down at the towel I had draped across my front.

“Saw what?” Daryl asked. He eyed me carefully and waited.

“Uh…you were on the bed, naked. And you know…” I nodded and shrugged my shoulders, biting the inside of my lip to keep my teeth from chattering.

“Oh…okay,” he said in a clipped voice. “You watched me?” he asked, taking a puff off of his smoke.

“Umm…maybe,” I replied. I didn’t quite have the guts to come right out and say that I watched him stroke his long cock and I loved every second of it.

“Like to watch guys jerk off while your man sleeps in the bed four feet away?” He stepped a little closer to me, leaving only about a foot of space in between us. I still didn’t have to courage to look him in the eye, so I kept my gaze on his chest while I spoke.

“Well…Rick wasn’t sleeping.” I felt like my heart was going to pound right out of my chest and I tried to steady my breathing.

“He watched too?” I saw him put the cigarette out and place the stub into his pocket to save for later. Finally, I looked up at his intense blue eyes and he had an expression on his face that I couldn’t quite understand. I slowly shook my head at him and he exhaled slowly. “I get it. He was takin’ care of business, wasn’t he?” Daryl darted his eyes down to my lower body and then came back to my face.

“Y-Yes,” I managed to stutter out. Daryl stepped even closer to me and I could feel his breath inches away from my face. He pulled the towel from my hands and dropped it to the floor. If my nipples were stiff before, they were rock hard now, and they stuck out proudly.

He dropped his arms to his sides and held them there, but his eyes worked over my body and I felt like he was undressing me piece by piece. Dampness was practically pooling between my legs and I squeezed my thighs together. He sighed and bit his lip before he whispered, “You liked what you saw? Liked me jerking off for you while your man worked that pussy until you came like a good girl?”

My mouth went dry as he spoke and it felt like a bomb went off in my brain. His dirty words had me so worked up, I felt like I could come with the brush of a finger across my cheek. I started to nod slowly and saw him go to lift an arm towards me. Right at that moment, I felt a wave of panic rush through me and I quickly turned. “I have to go,” I yelled as I ran back out into the downpour and headed for the front door. I didn’t even look back as I ran inside and bounded up the stairs.

I ran into my bedroom and slammed the door closed behind me. I locked it for good measure and immediately started stripping out of my wet clothes. Once I was naked, I walked into the bathroom and cranked the shower on, turning the hot water up so it got nice and steamy. Once I stepped under the spray, I stood there for a minute and Daryl’s words echoed throughout my head. I couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed the showerhead and turned it to the strongest spray.

I leaned against the shower wall and spread myself open as I aimed the showerhead. While I replayed the event in my head, the water pulsated against my clit and in only a matter of seconds I could feel myself getting ready to peak. As Daryl’s voice spoke in my head and I pictured what I saw last night, I came so hard that I screamed and I had to put a hand over my mouth to keep the sound from reaching outside the bathroom. Once the feelings had faded, I put the showerhead back and my weak legs wobbled so much that I ended up sitting on the floor of the shower while the water washed away the few tears that sprang from my eyes. 


	11. Chapter 11

Once the water started to run cold against my skin, I pulled myself up and turned the knobs off. After drying off and putting on some clothes, I sat on the bed and sighed as I combed through my hair. Leah started to scratch at the door, so I unlocked and opened it and she came bounding in and jumped on the bed for some attention.

While I absentmindedly rubbed her belly, I tried to organize my confused thoughts. I felt like everything I had been doing lately was wrong. My thoughts, my feelings, everything was muddled but the clear feeling of guilt after doing and thinking these things was ever present in my mind. The thing that kept throwing me for a loop was my obvious attraction to Daryl.

There was something about him that I couldn’t stop thinking about. Maybe it was everything about him. He was timid and quiet but when he opened up, I felt like a flower blooming under the sunshine. There was no doubt about my physical attraction to him. His body was something to behold and I’ve seen way more of it than I should have. If only it were just physical attraction, maybe I could shake these feelings away. But things definitely seemed to go deeper than that.

The most confusing part was that I still loved Rick more than ever. How can that be? I always thought that if you loved one person the way I do Rick, then attraction to someone else wasn’t even an issue. But I was clearly wrong about that and guilt was practically eating away at me. I had no clue how to deal with these feelings and no one to really talk to about them.

After awhile, I heard Rick’s truck pull in the driveway and he walked into the house. Hearing him call for me, I yelled that I was upstairs and after a few seconds he appeared in our bedroom doorway. “Hey baby. How was your day off?” he asked with a kiss.

“Uh…good, I guess.” He started to change into different clothes and I remembered that we had dinner tonight at my dad’s house. I almost wanted to skip it after today’s events, but I knew Daddy would think something was up if we did that.

“What’d ya do?”

Laying on the bed, I thought of all the things that had happened today. “Woke up and drank my coffee on the porch. The weather was nice this morning and I didn’t feel like being cooped up in the house. So Daryl offered to take me for a ride on his bike.”

“Oh yea? How was that? And please tell me you wore a helmet,” Rick said, sitting down on the bed next to me while he buttoned up his shirt.

“Of course I did,” I laughed. “Daryl said you’d kick his ass if I didn’t.”

“Smart man,” Rick winked at me. “So did you like it?”

I nodded vigorously because I really did love riding on the bike. It was so freeing. No wonder Daryl rode it everywhere. “Yea, it was awesome baby. We rode around town and headed north. Stopped and got some ice cream. Daryl actually opened up a bit.”

“What’d he say?”

“Well, for starters, he told me why he came here. Apparently he was staying with his brother a few counties away. His brother got involved with some unsavory characters. Something went wrong and they started to put pressure on Daryl. He decided that he didn’t want anything to do with that. When he told his brother, he got pretty upset, and Daryl said he just left with only the clothes on his back.”

“Interesting…” Rick mumbled. “He got anyone looking for him?”

I shook my head and some of the tension relaxed on Rick’s face. “I don’t think so. So yea, I found that out. And he asked me why I picked you out of all the young, virile men in this town,” I said a little sarcastically.

“Really? He asked that?”

“Well, not in those words. But he mentioned our age difference and asked why.” Rick wrapped his arms around my waist and hoisted me into his lap. I laughed at him but he nuzzled my neck and I sighed happily. Moments like this helped me forget some of my worries.

“So what’d you say then?”

Rolling my eyes, I looked up at him and shook my head. “What do you think I said? The same thing I always say. That I found you and you were special. You treated me so well and I fell in love like that,” and I snapped my fingers.

“Don’t get fussy. I just like to check and make sure you ain’t changed your story,” he joked. I swatted him on the arm but my face remained soft. “So what else did you do today?”

“Uh…nothing really. We rode back but got caught in the rain at the last minute so by the time we got home, I was completely wet. And that stuff hurts when you’re riding through it on a bike!” Rick chuckled at me and ran his hands soothingly up and down my arms. Even though the pain was gone, it still felt nice. “Oh and I did mention to Daryl that you looked at his record…”

“Yea, I had a feeling you would. Did he say I missed anything?”

“Nah…he said he tries to stay outta trouble. He likes his privacy…” Repeating Daryl’s words made me think of the last part of our conversation, and I started to blush a little. Biting my lip, I knew I needed to tell Rick at least some of that exchange. “I did tell him…that…he should probably turn his lights off at night though…”

Rick pulled back and looked me in the eye with a questioning expression written across his face. “Did you tell him…” he asked, letting the question trail off at the end.

“Kinda. But he kinda guessed on his own after I told him about the lights…”

“Beth? Really?" Rick sighed, exasperated. "I know you felt bad, but you didn’t have to go telling him that. We coulda just made it a one-time thing.” He grimaced and ran a hand though his combed back curls. I bit my lip nervously because his tone didn’t sound good.

“Are you mad at me?” I asked tentatively.

“No baby. I’m not mad." He ran a hand through my long hair that I had left down and placed a kiss on my forehead. “I just…feel like that makes us sound bad. Like we purposefully invaded his privacy when that’s not what happened. I just don’t want him to be upset with us. Was he mad?”

“Well…” I thought of Daryl’s reaction and the words that he spoke. I didn’t really know how Rick would react if I told him everything, so I decided to just give him the broad strokes. “I wouldn’t say mad or even upset really. Just curious as to what we saw and if we watched him. But he certainly didn’t seem angry when we ended the conversation.” No, he seemed horny and so was I, which is why I ran away.

“I guess that’s as good of a reaction as I can ask for, I s’pose.” Rick shrugged with me in his arms and I glanced at the clock. It was almost time to head over to Daddy’s house and I still needed to change.

“Well, since I handled that conversation earlier, you can go get him while I change. We have to leave in a few minutes.” Rick groaned but I pushed him towards the door anyway and he walked out with a fake pout plastered to his face, which only served to make me smile.

I decided I wanted to look a little nice tonight so I put on a white, flowy skirt that hit just below my knee and a blue tank top that really helped make my eyes pop. I left my hair down and put on a just a touch of makeup, nothing too crazy though or else my dad would mention it at dinner. After throwing on a pair of sandals, I grabbed my jean jacket and headed downstairs. Both men were waiting for me on the front porch, standing on either side of the steps and leaning against the railing. They were talking about some fishing technique which made me roll my eyes.

As I opened the screen door, I shut the wooden door behind me and locked it. When I turned around they had both stopped talking and were staring at me, which caught me completely off guard. “What?” I asked with a bewildered expression.

“Nothin’…” Daryl mumbled and he turned and walked down the steps. He had been giving me that same look from the garage and I knew my body was starting to flush. I turned to Rick to shake the feeling off and he just gave me a smile as he wrapped me up in his arms.

“You look real nice, baby.” Wrapping my arms around his neck, I grinned up at him and we kissed momentarily before heading to the car. Daryl was leaning against Rick’s truck and I looked to my boyfriend.

“Taking the truck?” I asked, slightly confused.

“Yea, couldn’t get the Saturn to start. We’ll just have to squeeze in,” he said and he gave my butt a light smack as he opened the driver’s side door and indicated for me to get in the middle. I groaned inwardly and climbed in just as Daryl got in on the other side. The cab of Rick’s truck wasn’t too big, so I couldn’t help but have contact with both men on either side of me.

Daryl looked nice tonight, wearing Rick’s old jeans and one of his button front shirts with the sleeves rolled up. I looked at him briefly before leaning towards Rick and wrapping my hands around his right arm. We drove the short distance to my father’s house in silence. I tried to think about the night ahead, but my mind couldn’t stop wandering back to how much Daryl’s leg was touching mine and how hard his bicep felt next my arm.

Once we pulled up to my dad’s house, I saw Maggie’s car parked next to Daddy’s truck. We parked behind her and climbed out. I lead the way up to the porch and opened the front door. My dad was already sitting in the living room in his armchair and there was a guy I didn’t know sitting on the couch. Before I could say anything, I heard rapid footsteps approaching from the kitchen and before I knew it, I was wrapped up in my sister’s arms.

“Oh, Bethy! I missed you so much!” she cried out as we embraced and she rocked me back and forth. Maggie was a good few inches taller than me and she had chin length brown hair cut into a bob. Sometimes I thought we didn’t look related at all, but our personalities were too similar for us to be anything but blood related. I laughed as we continued to hug for another minute before she finally pulled away and I could breathe again.

“Hey Sissy. I missed you too,” I said breathlessly. The strange man in the living room stood from the couch and she dragged me further into the house to introduce him to us.

“Beth, this is Glenn, my boyfriend. Glenn, this is my sister, Beth. And that’s her boyfriend Rick. And I don’t know who that is over there,” she said, giving me a quizzical look. I turned around and saw Daryl hanging back, waiting to be introduced.

“Oh yea! Everyone this is my friend Daryl. Daryl, my sister Maggie, apparently her boyfriend, Glenn. And then here is my dad, Hershel.” I pointed to my dad last and smiled down at him in his armchair. He slowly stood up and turned around to face my friend that I had brought for dinner.

Daryl walked forward and held out his hand. “Uh, it’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. Beth’s told me a lot about you and I jus’ wanna say thank you for helping me get that job. Kyle McClain’s a real good guy to work for.”

Daddy smiled through his white beard while he listened to Daryl’s words. “Good to meet you too. When Beth tells me someone needs a helping hand, I know she means it. She’s a good judge of character.”

Daryl nodded at my dad’s words. “Yea, I ain’t never met people as nice as her and Rick. They’ve really been somethin’ else,” he mumbled, looking shyly down at the floor.

“Well, that’s certainly true,” Daddy said. He turned back around to settle back in his chair. I noticed that he didn’t bother wearing his prosthetic leg today and I rolled my eyes. I knew he was only doing that to throw off Maggie's new boyfriend. I turned my attentions back towards Glenn and finally walked over to give him a proper handshake. In fact, handshakes went all around as new people were introduced.

“Alright, well you men sit in here and I’m dragging Beth to the kitchen with me. Y’all talk about guy stuff or something,” she joked as she grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hallway. Once we got to the kitchen, I smelled the lasagna in the oven and I realized how hungry I was. She went back to the chopping up vegetables for the salad while her mouth went about a thousand miles a minute. “So what do you think of Glenn?”

“He looks nice. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me he was Asian,” I said to her as we started throwing salad ingredients into the bowl.

“What’s that matter?” she asked crossly. “And he’s Korean, by the way.”

“It doesn’t. Just surprising is all. How’d y’all meet?”

“On campus. He’s getting his masters in computer engineering,” she said proudly.

“He must be pretty smart then. How long have y’all been dating?”

“Oh…about six months. It wasn’t too serious at first, but then he told me his feelings and I realized I felt the same way. It just…all fell into place, ya know?” She finished cutting up the last of the salad and we tossed it all together in the big bowl.

“Yea, I do…” I said absentmindedly. My thoughts wandered to my conflicted feelings over Daryl and what I should do about them.

“So who is this guy that you brought over?” she asked, giving me a look that I couldn’t quite decipher.

“He’s my friend. The one that Daddy helped get a job. And now he’s staying at our place, in the spare room over the garage.” I added the last sentence because if I didn’t tell her now and she found out later, she would surely think that I was acting suspicious.

“He’s living with y’all? How’s Rick dealing with that?”

“Oh, he’s fine. He likes it actually. Another guy around the house and Daryl does a lot of the outside chores that Rick hates. So it’s worked out pretty good.” I made sure to sound upbeat so she would stop peppering me with questions.

She looked like she was about to ask something else, but the timer for the oven went off, meaning dinner was ready. She grabbed the big dish of lasagna and sat it down on the stove. I grabbed the plates and sat them on the dining room table, along with silverware and napkins. I also grabbed glasses of ice tea for everyone and sat them on the table as well. Maggie called for the men and they all filtered in and found their various seats.

Daddy and Rick ended up sitting at the ends of the table while Maggie sat next to Glenn on one side and me and Daryl sat on the other. I was technically sitting between Rick and Daryl, and I smiled inwardly at how that had turned out. After everyone was served their food, we held hands while Daddy blessed the table. I tried to focus on Daddy's words but my mind couldn't help but concentrate on the sturdy hands I was holding onto and how right it felt. We all said "Amen," once the blessing was finished and started to dig into our plates piled high with yummy food. 

While we ate Maggie did her part to keep up the conversation, something she was always good for. Talk turned to Rick’s work, then Daddy told us about a foal he delivered just a few days ago. After that, he turned to Daryl and asked him about work at the garage. Daryl seemed a little unsure of what to say, so I jumped in to save him from my father’s pestering. “Daddy, let the man eat. You don’t gotta grill him during dinner.”

Daddy laughed at me but he had a twinkle to his eye that told me to watch my words while I sat at his table. “So, Bethy how’s the diner been?”

“Fine, I guess,” I shrugged. “Poor Darlene called out Monday and Tuesday because her son had the stomach flu. I ended up working doubles both days so I was beat.”

“You sounded tired when we talked on the phone,” Maggie interjected. I stuck my tongue out at her and she returned the gesture.  

“Well, I wish you’d go ahead and find another job, Beth. That diner isn’t gonna lead you anywhere, sweetie.” My father’s words cut like a knife and I looked down at my plate and scooted some food around while I tried to think of something to say. Talking back to my father wasn't something I was skilled at; usually that was Maggie's territory but I knew that she wanted to tread carefully tonight with bringing a new boyfriend home. 

“Aw, cut her some slack, Hershel. She’s still got plenty of time to figure that out.” I heard Rick’s voice and the corners of my mouth quirked up a little as I glanced over to him. He grabbed my hand and gave it a good, reassuring squeeze.

“I think we both know how fast that time flies, Rick,” Daddy said and he raised his eyebrows in my boyfriend’s direction. I bit my lip at my father’s reply because he was trying to get a rise out of Rick, who was about to say something else when we heard another voice speak up.

“Nah, Rick’s right. You jus’ gotta give her some time. It takes awhile to figure out what you’re interested in.” I looked to the man who sat on the other side of me as he spoke. Daryl kept his eyes on his plate and shrugged after he finished his words. A big smile spread across my face because even though he was saying that he agreed with Rick, he was really sticking up for me in front of my dad. It felt nice having two people at the table who had my back.

“Thank you, Daryl,” I said and patted him on the shoulder. I glanced at Rick who wore a smile as well and then turned back to my father. His face seemed to have a surprised look on it; like he didn’t expect the quiet man sitting next to him to speak up the way he did. I hadn’t expected it either.

“So, what’re you interested in, Daryl?” my father asked curiously. I was tempted to come to Daryl’s aid again, but really there wasn’t too much I could say because Daryl had thrown himself into the conversation when he came to my rescue.

“A few things…huntin’, fishin’, workin’ on cars. Pretty typical for a guy like me, I s’pose.”

“Are you good at huntin’ and fishin’?” my father asked.

“I do alright,” Daryl shrugged again.

“Oh, don’t listen to him, Daddy. We all went fishing last Sunday and Daryl caught a bunch of fish,” I chimed in. I wasn’t going to let him sell himself short in front of my dad.

“Did he now?” Daddy said as he finished his plate.

“Nah…Beth caught more than I did. ‘Course we both did better ‘an Rick. Seemed like the fish were runnin’ away from him.” We all chuckled after that, even Rick because he knew when someone was right.

“Well, I only caught more because Daryl threw one back. Otherwise, we would have tied,” I said and I gave Daryl a nudge with my elbow.

Once everyone was finished with dinner, me and Maggie grabbed the plates and headed to the kitchen where she kept giving me strange looks. After a few minutes of me rinsing plates and handing them to her to put in the dishwasher, I got tired of her suspicious eyes and finally asked, “What? Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

“Nothing…you just seem different tonight,” she mumbled.

“Different? Different how?”

“I don’t know. Is there anything going on? Anything that you need to tell me about?” She stopped filling the dishwasher and stood there with her hands on her hips.

“Uh…I don’t think so…” 

“So why didn’t you tell me this friend was a guy? And that he’s living with you and Rick?” she finally asked. Groaning in front of the sink, I rolled my eyes and sighed because I had hoped she wasn’t going to bring any of this up.

“What’s it matter?”

“What’s it matter?! Beth! You should know better than that. I saw the way you were glancing at him tonight while he talked. No one else may know that look, but I do. Is something going on with him? Does Rick know about it?” Maggie rambled through about five more questions until I finally held up a hand for her to stop.

“It shouldn’t have to matter. He’s just a friend, that’s all. He was in a rough spot and he needed some help and you know I can’t sit by and let someone go through something like that without helping them. And no there’s nothing going on! And asking if Rick knows about it? C’mon Maggie! Are you crazy?” We kept our voices at a whisper level, but they both carried a serious tone to them. Once I had my say, Maggie seemed to ease up on her suspicions and went back to loading the dishwasher.

When we finished, we stood by the sink and dried off our hands on the dish towel. “You know, it’s not that crazy,” Maggie said absentmindedly.

“What’s not?” I asked.

“If you liked that Daryl guy. And if Rick knew about it.”

“Sounds pretty crazy to me…” I muttered looking down at the floor, hoping she wouldn’t catch the lie in my eyes.

“Oh, Beth. C’mon. In this day and age, people do a lot crazier things than date two guys.” She rolled up the dish towel and swatted my legs with it until I yanked it from her hands and gave the swats right back to her.

“Date two guys? Who does that? It just seems so wrong…”

“Or it seems so hot. Think about having two men to fawn over you. That could be some REAL fun,” my sister said, her eyes getting wide. My face turned bright red and I laughed nervously.

“Well, hot or not, Rick is my only boyfriend right now. I doubt he’d ever go for something like that.”

“You never know. Rick’s always seemed pretty open-minded to me…” Maggie trailed off, lifting her eyebrows at me and walking towards the living room where the men had wandered off. I visibly rolled my eyes at her, but once her back turned I thought about her words. Even if Rick did have an open-mind, how could any guy be okay with sharing his woman?

We spent the rest of the evening listening to Maggie and Glenn talk about their lives in Atlanta and I found that I liked this Glenn guy more and more. Maggie really did seem to love him and from the way he was looking at her, I could tell he felt the same way. Once the night was over, hugs and handshakes were given and we said goodnight. I felt pretty tired, so when we climbed back in the truck, I didn’t care how much of me was touching Daryl, but I’m sure it was more than when we had arrived at the beginning of the night.

When we got home, Daryl went to his room and before long, me and Rick were cuddled up in bed. My head was resting on his chest as he rubbed a hand across my back. “So what did you and your sister talk about? I’m sure there was lots of gossiping going on in that kitchen,” Rick whispered in my ear.

“Maybe…” I said and gave him a sly look. “Nah, she just talked about Glenn A LOT. She seems really happy.”

“Well, that’s good.” I nodded against him and we fell silent again. But some of Maggie’s words were still scratching at the back of my mind.

“She did talk about Daryl though. She said he seemed cool. She also asked…” and I added a laugh to make it seem like what I was about to say was ridiculous, “if me and him were a thing and if you knew about it.”

“Really?” Rick chuckled. “That’s interesting. Why’d she ask that?”

“I don’t know. Isn’t that crazy though? Two guys?” and I shook my head against his chest.

“Well, I wouldn’t say crazy, but that does seem a little out of the blue to ask after just meeting the man.”

I looked up at his face with confusion. “How is that not crazy? Dating two guys?”

He shifted his body so he was laying on his side, facing me and I propped myself up on my elbow so I could look him in the eye better. “Baby, there are plenty of people who do that. Now I’m not sure about around here. If they do, I’m sure they try to hide it pretty well because people in the south can tend to be judgmental. I know you’re still young, but there are lots of people who get off to being with two people at once.”

“Yea…but isn’t that just…like in porn and stuff? Or a one night kinda thing?” Rick ran a hand through my hair as I spoke and watched my face as I went through like three different emotions at once, all while trying to maintain a neutral expression.

“It can be. But there are people who make relationships that way.”

“But how do they not get jealous?” I was genuinely curious about this part.

Rick shrugged his shoulders and sighed. “I don’t know baby. That’s the tough part I guess. Relationships are about communication anyways. I guess you just gotta be honest.” Rick talking about honesty made me feel a little guilty about not telling him everything that had happened this past week, especially the naughty things Daryl had said to me after our bike ride.

Leaning my head into his chest, he wrapped an arm around me and placed a few kisses on my head and shoulder.  Then I had a thought and I pulled back and looked into his eyes again. “Have you…ever done anything like that?”

“Been with two guys?” Rick joked and I gave him a fake scowl.

“No. You know what I’m asking. Been with two people?” His expression changed a little and I waited for his response.

“Not technically. I mean I’ve never been with two women. But once…I was with a girl and I guess it was at the same time as another guy…” He bit his lip and looked down at me, waiting for my reaction, and all I felt was curiosity.

“Really? When? What happened? Who were they?” I asked eagerly, sitting up in bed and looking down at him. He sighed and turned to his back, putting his arms behind his head.

“This was a long time ago. I was maybe 21, when I was living with a roommate. We had a party and a bunch of people came over. There was a good bit of drinking. There was this one girl who seemed into both of us and we took her to a back bedroom and did some things.”

“Oh, don’t you dare stop there! Keep going. What did y’all do?” He laughed at my questioning but kept going anyways.

“She would go back and forth between kissing us before things got a little heated. She undid both our pants and gave him a blowjob while I watched, and then she came over and did me. Once I was finished, he took her to the bed and they had sex and I watched for a minute before going back to the party.”

I listened to his story with bated breath. “I can’t believe you never told me this before. Did you like it? Like watching?” I asked with wide eyes.

“It was pretty hot. I can certainly see the appeal,” he shrugged from the bed.

“Why didn’t you stay and have sex with her?”

“I had already gotten what I needed. I just stayed to watch for a few minutes after because I could.” I rolled my eyes at that because it definitely sounded like a typical guy response.

“And nothing happened with her again?”

“Nah…she wasn’t really…girlfriend material, I guess you could say.”

“Ahhh…okay,” I said in understanding. I laid back down on his chest and thought quietly for a minute about everything Rick had just told me.

“What? Is that all? You seemed real interested and then you got quiet,” Rick commented.

I made a big gesture of yawning and said, “Yea, I got tired. And that was really I wanted to know.”

“Okay…” Rick trailed off. Eventually I heard him go to sleep, but I laid awake awhile longer and continued thinking on all the things I had learned today. I got up once to glance out our window and saw that Daryl’s light was off and I went back to bed slightly disappointed, falling asleep a little while later.


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning when I woke up, Rick had already left for work. Looking outside the bedroom window, I saw Daryl walking towards the house, so I stayed upstairs for the next hour until I heard his motorcycle pull out of the driveway. I know I was acting silly, but I didn’t want to another chance to be alone with him, not until I had my head set straight.

After talking things over with Rick last night, I still felt confused. I loved my boyfriend, but I couldn’t deny my feelings for Daryl and I had no idea what to do about any of it. I didn’t have to go in until later this afternoon since I had to close the diner tonight, so once I could go downstairs, I spent the morning doing a few chores around the house and tidying up.

After the house was neat, I played around on my guitar until it was time to get ready. When I got in the car to go to the diner, the Saturn started right up, which I thought was odd because Rick said he had trouble with it yesterday. I chalked it up to my car acting like its normal crazy self and headed to the work. I sighed in dismay when I pulled in and saw Luanne’s car. That meant that Darlene must have opened and disappointment washed over me because I had hoped to talk to her a little bit about the past few days. I hadn’t seen her all week.

Luanne was in quite a mood today and she spoke all of three words to me while she finished her shift. Thankfully there were plenty of tables to wait on, so I had lots to do. A small amount of relief washed over me when she left, taking the typical cloud of negativity that surrounded her out the door. The diner died just after eight o’clock, and I spent the rest of the night finding things to do. After every task I could possibly think of had been done, I leaned against the counter and waited for the last fifteen minutes to countdown until I could close.

Finally, the time came and I waved goodbye to the night cook as we walked out the back door together. Pulling into the garage back home, I yawned as I cut the engine. When I reached back to grab my purse, I practically jumped out of my skin when I heard a loud bang echo all around me. Then I heard another and my heart was practically pounding outside of my chest. Jumping out of the car, I heard one more and ran out the garage and towards the backyard.

“What the fuck!” I yelled when I came upon Rick and Daryl standing in the backyard, each with a rifle in their hands, shooting at beer bottles they had lined up. There was a bunch of broken glass on the ground, so I could tell they had been at this for awhile.

At the sound of my voice, they turned my way with surprised looks on their faces. “Oh, hey baby!” Rick said in a slightly slurred voice. He sat down his rifle and quickly took something out of his mouth and hid it behind his back, but he wasn’t quite slick enough.

“Rick Grimes! Are you smoking?!” Outrage was clear in my voice and anger welled up inside of me.

“Uh…maybe,” he replied as guilt quickly covered his face. He threw the cigarette on the ground and put it out with a stomp of his shoe. I looked to Daryl who still held his rifle and had his own cigarette hanging out of his mouth. His eyes were wide in surprise as he looked from Rick to me.

“So what? You thought you’d get drunk and shoot some guns and smoke a few cigarettes?” I said to both men, standing with my hands on my hips. I was tired and they had caught me at the wrong moment.

“Aw baby. Don’t be mad. We were just having some fun…” Rick whined as he walked towards me. He wrapped his arms around me and tried to kiss me but all I could smell was beer and cigarettes on his mouth and I pushed him away.

“Well, I’m glad y’all had fun, but since when do you smoke? And drinking and shooting off guns ain’t exactly the best idea. You should know better.” Rick frowned at my admonishment and tried to grab one of my hands, but I flung it away and continued to stare at him with my severe gaze.

“Oh baby. C’mon. Daryl smokes…” he said, pointing to the man who stood next to us.

“Well, I don’t have to kiss Daryl! Put the damn guns away and clean up that glass before Leah hurts herself on it!” I huffed out a breath at both men and stomped up to the back door. I flung the screen door open and let it slam behind me as I tossed my bag on the kitchen table and rifled through the fridge for something to eat. I settled on some frozen meal from the freezer and tossed it into the microwave.

Standing by the counter, I tried to even my temper while I waited for my food to cook. A minute later, I heard the backdoor open and I expected Rick to come begging for my forgiveness. When I turned around, I was surprised to see it was Daryl who stood by the door with a face full of something that I couldn't quite read. It almost looked like amusement.

“What do you want?” I said, only trying to keep some of the annoyance out of my voice.

“Aw, c’mon. Don’t be mad at him. It was my fault,” he mumbled, stepping into the kitchen. “We was drinkin’ and talkin’. He showed me his guns and I said we should go shoot ‘em. I was smokin’ and offered him one. He was just drunk and that’s why he took it…” He trailed off and leaned against the counter next to me.

“Well, ain’t that sweet. You sticking up for your friend…” I said crossly and I rolled my eyes at him.

“He’d do the same for me…and we would for you…” He must have been drunker than I thought because he placed a hand over mine and I quickly pulled it away and sighed. The microwave timer went off and I grabbed the meal from it and went to peel the clear film back. The steam inside hit my hand all at once and I felt the burn work across my fingers. I pulled my hand away quickly and shook it as I cursed under my breath.

“Come here,” Daryl mumbled and he grabbed my hand and brought it to the sink, letting cool water run over the affected area. He rubbed his fingers over mine soothingly and I felt my pulse start to pick up from the close contact. I sighed again and I looked up at his face and found his eyes watching me. We stared at each other for a second and I felt most of my anger float away, quickly replaced by my desire for him.

I slowly pulled my fingers from his grasp and dried them on the dish towel next to the sink. Turning the water off, I grabbed a fork and the microwave meal and walked towards the hallway. Just as I was about to exit the kitchen, I turned back around and our eyes met again.

“Don’t you dare give him another cigarette. I’m glad y’all had your manly bonding time or whatever, but next time be smarter about it. Now go help him clean up that mess,” I commanded and Daryl smirked at me.

“Yes ma’am,” and he gave me a salute before he headed back out the door. I made my way upstairs and sat on the bed as I ate. Leah was curled up in a ball, tucked under our pillows and I had to coax her out and give her a reassuring belly rub. She must have gotten scared from all the gunfire and I sighed again at Rick and Daryl’s antics.

After I finished eating, I tossed the tray into the trash and took off my uniform. I put on a tank top and climbed into bed and tried to get some sleep since I had to open the diner the next day. My mind was wide awake though and I kept having flashes of everything that had happened this past week and my feelings for Daryl. After the way he looked at me tonight by the sink, I had a suspicion that he felt the same way.  

About an hour later, I heard feet coming up the stairs and the bedroom door open. I heard the rustling of clothing being taken off and dropped on the floor, then I felt Rick scoot in the bed behind me. He came in close and wrapped his arms around me. “You still awake, baby?” he whispered in my ear.

“Yes…” I sighed.

“You still mad? Daryl said you seemed okay before you came upstairs.”

“I’m not mad, just…annoyed. Leah was scared to death up here when I came to bed. And smoking? Really, Rick?” I turned over and looked at his face that I could barely make out in the dark room.

“I’m sorry baby. We weren’t thinking. We had too much to drink…” he trailed off and placed a few kisses on my neck and face. “You forgive me?”

“Of course I do,” I replied, rolling my eyes in the dark. “But you better never let me catch you smoking again. Because if I do, you’ll never regret anything so much in your whole life.” I pinched his nipple for good measure and he chuckled lightly.

“You won’t. I promise.” Afterwards, I wrapped my body around his and we slept that way the whole night.

The next day, work went by at a glacial pace. When Darlene came in for the mid-morning shift, I ran up to her and we hugged because it had been a full week since we’d seen each other. We chatted as we helped the few customers that came in and I filled her in on the events that had happened in the past week. When I told her about my new houseguest, she looked at me with wide eyes.

“Oh really? How did Rick take that?” she asked cautiously.

“Well, he wasn’t that happy at first, but he warmed to the idea. Especially when Daryl cleaned the garage and mowed the yard. He’s real useful around the house.”

“Oh lord. Where can I find one of them? Larry would be mad as hell, but it’s not like he ever gets off his butt to help me with anything.” We laughed together and split up to give out refills.

When we came back to the counter, I started to wipe down glasses as she wrapped silverware. “I don’t think you’d ever find someone like Daryl. He’s pretty unique…” I said, trying to hide the dreamy smile that worked across my face.

“Unique? How’s that? Now you know I’m not one to judge honey, but is there anything going on there with you two?” She gave me a sly smile and I laughed and sighed at the same time.

“Gosh no! My sister asked the same thing on Wednesday. No, he’s just a friend. Do I look like someone who’d try to date two guys at once?” I asked her with raised eyebrows. She smiled and shook her head.

“Well…no. But you can’t always judge a book by its cover sweetie.”

“Have you…ever done anything like that?”

“Who? Me?” she said with wide eyes. “No. I’m way too jealous to do something like that. But my cousin, Rochelle, she’s always been pretty wild. For a long time, she’d always bring these two guys with her to the family get-togethers. Pete and Ned. She never called them both her boyfriends, she’d just say they were her good friends, but she was always awful friendly with them. One night, when we had a bit much to drink and I asked her about it.” Darlene smiled as her eyes got that far off look as she thought about the memory.

“What happened?”

“Well, she said they were together, had been for years. She said they shared a bed and everything. Told me it made for some pretty hot loving and that she really did love them both. She was always interesting, that Rochelle.”

“She never talked about them getting jealous of each other or fighting or stuff?” I asked curiously. I needed to check on my table but this story was too interesting to just walk away from.

“She said there was some jealousy occasionally, but that’s every relationship, right? Fighting's normal, honey. It’s the making up that’s important,” and Darlene gave me a wink.

“Is she still with both of them?”

Darlene face turned to a frown and she shook her head. “Nah…last I heard, one of the guys, can’t remember which one sadly, but one of them died in a car crash. Ain’t seen Rochelle in years. Miss that girl, though.”

“Oh…that’s awful,” I mumbled. After hearing that, I finally walked away and checked on my customers and dipped into the bathroom before heading back to Darlene at the counter. “So…what do you think of that then? Dating two men?” I realized that she had told me the story but not her thoughts on the matter at hand.

She shrugged her shoulders and gave me a curious look. “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve always been of the mind that you gotta do what makes you happy, honey. Whether you’re gay, straight, wanna be with two men or no one at all. The way I see it, all relationships have their problems and no one is perfect. You just gotta find what’s right for you.”

“Yea, I guess…” But what if you didn’t know what made you happy? I knew I was happy with Rick, but that still didn’t stop my feelings for the mysterious man who made his way into my life. My thoughts were still pretty muddled and I sighed in frustration.

“So what you doing tonight, honey?” Darlene asked, nudging me with her elbow.

“Probably nothing. I have to work this weekend.”

“How about you grab those two men and come out to JP’s with me and Larry then?” she asked excitedly. “I’ll buy the first pitcher since you worked for me on Monday and Tuesday. I owe you a lot more than that for working two doubles, but this will have to do. We do work here after all,” and she gestured to the empty diner around us.

I laughed at her and shook my head. “I don’t know. I’d have to ask the guys when I get home.”

“Well, ask them and give me a call. We can meet there around eight.” Her eyes gleamed with eagerness and I just smiled and nodded at her. We spent the rest of my shift chatting and once it was over, I gave her a quick hug and headed home.

I spent the rest of the afternoon napping and was woken up by sweet kisses that Rick was placing on my neck and shoulders. Opening my eyes, I smiled at him and he gave me one of his beautiful smiles that made my stomach flutter a little. “Well, hey there,” I said in a sleepy voice.

“Hey there,” he said quietly. “How was your day baby?”

“Good. It was dead, but I got to see Darlene. So that was nice. She wants us to meet her at JP’s tonight and she’ll buy us a pitcher. Said she’s trying to make up for making me work doubles.” I stretched in the bed and Rick tickled my tummy as my shirt hiked up. Giggling, I shoved his hand away and gave him a light smack on the hand.

“Okay. It’s been awhile since we’ve been there. Bringing Daryl?”

“Of course. Wouldn’t be right to leave him here while we went out to have fun,” I replied. Just then, we heard Daryl’s motorcycle pull up into the driveway and we made our way downstairs. We started working on dinner in the kitchen and a few minutes later we heard the front door open and then the hallway bathroom door open and close. After a minute, I heard a flush and Daryl made his way to the kitchen.

Rick had stepped out back to start the grill and I was chopping some veggies on the counter. I felt Daryl walk up behind me and he stood there for a minute while I worked. “Y’all need help?” he finally asked.

“Sure…here. Finish chopping these,” and I nodded to the cutting board in front of me. He came up by my side and gently took the knife from my hand, making a little more contact than necessary but I smirked a little and warmth spread throughout my belly. I stepped away and grabbed the rest of the ingredients from the fridge and got a pot of water going on the stove.

“So…my friend that I work with invited us out to a bar tonight. You wanna go?” I looked over to Daryl as he meticulously chopped potatoes.

“She mean jus’ you and Rick?” he asked, glancing at me.

“No, she invited you too. C’mon. It’ll be fun. They usually have a band playing.”

“Okay…I guess I’ll go,” he mumbled as he finished his task. He picked up the chopping board and brought it over to me. I took it and dumped the potatoes into the pot and handed the board back to him, nodding towards the sink. He did as I indicated and then came back to my side. “So you not much of a drinker?” he asked.

“Uh…it depends. Why?” I gave him a curious look.

“Jus’ never see you drink much. Didn’t seem too happy ‘bout how much we drank last night.”

“That’s because y’all acted stupid after you drank all that. But I don’t have a problem with drinking. I can drink my fair share,” I said indignantly and turned my chin up proudly.

He chuckled and nudged me in the side with his elbow. “Yea, I bet. You can probably drink three whole beers ‘fore you’re three sheets to the wind, huh?” I scoffed at his tease but still took the bait.

“Oh hush! You’ll see tonight, won’t you?” and I started poking him in the side. He laughed and grabbed my hand but I just switched to poking with the other one. He worked quickly to grab the other hand and ended up wrapping both arms behind my back while he tickled my side. Laughing loudly, I started to squirm and blush as I realized how close our bodies were. Our fronts were pushed together while he held my hands behind my back with one arm and tickled me with the other.

His face was only a few inches from mine and I felt my heart practically double its pace while I cried out. “What’s going on here?” I heard a voice ask from behind me and I turned to look at Rick who wore an amused face as he leaned against the doorway.

“Baby! Help! Tell Daryl I can drink him under the table any day!” I called out to my boyfriend and he guffawed at my claim while Daryl still held me in place.

Rick steadily shook his head as he walked towards us. “C’mon,Daryl. Let her go…” he said and Daryl gently released my arms. Then Rick came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. “You gotta get her at the neck. That’s her weak spot!” Rick told the man standing in front of us. Daryl took the hint and started to wiggle his fingers around my neck.

Gasping loudly, I tried to kick at Rick behind me while I yelled, “Traitor!” That only served to make him laugh while Daryl tortured me. After a second, I could barely catch my breath and my skin had turned bright pink. The men took pity on me and let me go and I angrily gave each one a smack on the arm, even though I was still laughing. Once we settled down, I made sure to call Darlene so we could meet at the bar in a few hours.

Dinner got made eventually and we ate in the living room, chatting during commercial breaks. Daryl got up to do the dishes and once he came back we played a quick hand of Five Card Stud. Once I won, the men rolled their eyes at me and I just smiled. “Alright, I better go get ready,” I said, laying the cards on the coffee table. Rick grabbed me behind my back and scooped me into his lap and gave me a big kiss.

“Go get sexy, baby,” he said and he grabbed my ass. I blushed and looked over to Daryl who just watched with an amused look and I smacked Rick on the chest.

“Rick…” I mumbled and indicated to Daryl across from us.

“Oh sorry,” Rick smiled and turned his head to the man across from us. “Daryl, wanna come over here and get a squeeze in before she leaves?” Wiggling out of my boyfriend’s arms, I scoffed and gave him a light kick in the shin even though I knew he was joking. While I walked out, I glanced Daryl’s way and saw him smirking beneath his shaggy hair and I gave him the finger. Both men ended up laughing loudly as I walked up the steps to get ready.

After I quickly showered, I fixed my hair and decided on my outfit for the night. I went with a white dress that had a smocked top and the straps tied at the shoulder. I left my hair down, but I did clip it back on one side, just to pull some of it out of my face. I put my makeup on, going a little heavier on the eyeliner and shadow, and just put a shimmery gloss on my lips. I didn’t bother with a bra since the smocking on the dress covered me pretty well and I tossed my jean jacket on over it. I pulled on a pair of brown leather cowboy boots and took one last look in the mirror.

Once I was satisfied, I headed back downstairs and found the men still playing cards. “Gosh, do you guys ever give up?” I asked as I grabbed my purse and walked towards them. They chuckled but when they looked up at me, they both got quiet and I felt a little awkward. “What? Do I look okay?” I asked, looking down at myself.

“Yea…you look real nice,” Daryl mumbled and he started to gather up the cards to put back in the box. Rick stood up and grabbed my hand and gave me a quick twirl while he whistled his appreciation. I couldn’t help but giggle and blush a little.

“Damn, baby. Every man’s gonna be jealous of me tonight,” he said and grabbed the sides of my face, giving me a searing hot kiss. I pulled away as desire raced through my body and gave him a look that said he was going to be in for it tonight if he didn’t stop. He seemed to understand my expression and gave me a wink as he turned to Daryl. “You ready, man? We gotta take this little lady out on the town.”

Daryl merely nodded and we headed outside. Rick headed for the truck and I didn’t even bother to protest as we all climbed into the cab. I sat in the middle once again and while we rode to JP’s, I flipped through the radio to find something to break the silence. We pulled into the bar’s parking lot just after eight and there looked to be plenty of cars here already. JP’s was one of the few bars in town and they always had a good band to play on Friday nights.

Once we got out, I grabbed Rick’s hand and we walked in first with Daryl trailing behind us. The place was filled with people as every round table seemed to be full. The bar sat on the far left and directly in the back was the stage where the bands set up. I glanced around for Darlene and found her and her husband sitting at a table near the stage. She waved to us and we made our way over. She gave me and Rick a big hug as we sat down in our seats.

“Darlene, you remember Daryl,” I said to her, gesturing to Daryl who sat next to Rick with me on the other side of my boyfriend. She nodded and waved to him, he gave a small nod back. “Daryl, this is Darlene’s husband, Larry.”

Larry reached over and shook Daryl’s hand and then started pouring beers for everyone from the pitcher they had just ordered. “Don’t listen to a word this man says. He’s full of shit,” Darlene yelled to Daryl, pointing her husband. That made Daryl smirk and I smiled too. Darlene was always good at making people laugh.

The band started up next to us and I had to turn around to see who was playing. To my surprise, it was Jamie Brown’s band and he was standing up front, strumming his guitar and singing lead vocals. “Baby, look! It’s Jamie!” I yelled to Rick, tapping his arm and pointing. Rick smiled and nodded and I felt a little excited. Jamie was the man who taught me how to play guitar. He was a long time friend of my father’s and when I told my dad I wanted to learn how to play, he asked Jamie to show me the ropes. The man taught me every chord he knew and while I didn’t play nearly as good as him, I could get by pretty well.

I waved my hand erratically to get Jamie’s attention and once he saw me, his big, white moustache spread into a smile and he nodded at me while he continued singing and strumming along. Satisfied that he had acknowledged that I was there, I turned back around and took a big gulp of my beer.

“So Daryl, Beth tells me you’re pretty handy around the house. What’re the chances of getting over to my place? This man here is about as useful as tits on a bullfrog.” She nodded towards her husband who just scoffed at her and stole her beer and poured it into his near empty glass. “See what I mean?” she said and she smacked him on the leg.

Daryl chuckled at the question and shrugged. “Don’t know ‘bout that. Don’t think these two are willin’ to lend me out to jus’ anyone.”

“Oh, he’s right about that, Darlene. Can’t go wearing him out at your house. Who’d mow my lawn then? This one sure as hell ain’t gonna do it,” and I pointed to Rick, who scoffed at me.

“Well, excuse me!” he yelled over the music. “Darlene, I think me and you both know she’s got me doing plenty of things and none of them have to do with mowing!” He winked and the table erupted in laughter. Even though I was laughing just as much as everyone else, I was blushing like crazy too and I sipped my beer to try to cool my face down.

“Damn Rick! If she’s wearing your ass out that bad, tap out with this guy! I’m sure he’d be willing to step in!” and Darlene patted Daryl on the shoulder. Now Daryl was the one blushing and I chuckled nervously.

“Darlene!” I yelled at her. She winked and gave me a smile that had me guessing what she meant. “Anyways! Daryl has been very helpful around the house, but no, I’m not quite ready to lend him out. Next subject, please!” I looked to Rick who just smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek as he rubbed a hand on my knee.

Larry went on to ask Rick about work and Rick was always eager to tell a story about someone he pulled over this past week. The music slowed to a stop and I heard Jamie’s voice over the mic, and I turned to listen to him talk.

“Alright, ladies and gents. Hope you enjoyed that one. Now I love to stand on this stage and sing for you, but sometimes I like to do it with a little help. So how about we give a round of applause to one of my old students and maybe we can get her to come on stage and grace us with her angelic voice. Come on, Beth.” Jamie started to clap as the realization that he was talking about me finally worked its way into my head.

Turning around, I saw that my whole table was clapping and so was the rest of the bar. I blushed a deep crimson and felt Rick give me a nudge and nod to go up on stage. My heart started to beat erratically and I stood slowly and walked to the steps. Jamie walked over and grabbed my hand and pulled me the rest of the way. My face felt like it was on fire as I looked out at the bar and saw about fifty people watching me. It had been a long time since I had sung in front of this many people.

Jamie sat a mic in front of me and then handed me a spare acoustic guitar that he had already tuned and sat by the stage in case he needed it. Apparently now I needed it as I pulled the strap onto my shoulder and adjusted it. Once I was ready, I gave Jamie a nervous smile and spoke into the mic. “Alright, Jamie. You got me up here. Now tell me what I’m singing.” Laughter echoed around the bar and I chuckled a little too.

“Hmm…that’s a good question, Beth.” Jamie turned around and whispered to his bandmates and I heard a tune start that was pretty familiar to me. They started the opening to “Whiskey Lullaby,” one of the first songs I learned how to play. Jamie gave me a knowing smile and started to sing while I strummed. My part of the song came in and I sang along while I played. Once we hit the halfway point, I felt comfortable enough to look around the bar and down at my table of friends.

Darlene had a big smile on her face as she listened and I smiled back at her. I looked to Rick and he had that look on his face that he always had when I sang. His eyes were soft and a small smile played at his lips while he watched me. His look always told me that he loved me and it made me happy. Then I looked to Daryl and suddenly felt caught off guard.

He had a look that I hadn’t ever seen on his face. He didn’t smile but his eyes had that same soft look as Rick’s. He watched me with deep concentration and I had to look away so I didn’t get completely distracted. Once we finished the song, everyone clapped and my table of friends stood. I smiled to Jamie and he held up his hand to keep me from going.

“Alright. That’s what I like to hear. How ‘bout one more, everybody? Doesn’t she sound good?” Everyone clapped again, this time even louder and a few people yelled. I laughed and gave him a small nod to let him know I’d do one more and he turned one more time to tell his band the tune. When he turned back around, he started to strum the starting chords to “Picture,” and I joined him. This was another song he had taught me and as he started the words, the band behind us joined in.

I loved to sing this song and I knew it by heart, so when my part came in, I closed my eyes and went along with it. When I finally opened them back up again, I looked down at my table and saw that Rick and Daryl were both watching me and essentially giving me the same warm, loving expression. I sighed as I finally admitted to myself that I wanted both of them and there was nothing I could do to change that. I was already in too deep. I felt strong emotions start to overtake me and I worked hard to hold it together until the end of the song.

Once we sang the last line, everyone clapped and cheered even more, but I took the guitar off, letting Jamie know that I was done playing for the night. I gave him a big hug and whispered in his ear that I’d get him for this later. He just laughed and tipped his hat at me while I walked off stage. Once I was down the steps, instead of going back to my table, I turned and walked to the bathrooms in the back. Instead of going in them though, I walked out the backdoor and went and sat on the picnic tables they kept outside. With my head in my hands, I cried every tear I’d been holding back.


	13. Chapter 13

I sat outside for maybe ten minutes and slowly my tears started to dry up. I tried to wipe my face clean with my jacket sleeve, but denim really left a lot to be desired. Then I heard the back door to the bar squeak open and I saw Rick step out and look around. Once he saw me, he visibly sighed in relief and walked towards the picnic table I was sitting on top of.

“There you are,” he said in an exasperated voice. He held his hands out in bewilderment. “What’re you doin’ out here, baby?” As he stepped closer, he saw my puffy eyes, red face, and the few wet spots that my sleeves hadn’t managed to mop up. “Hey, what’s wrong? What’s going on, baby?” He spoke gently and wrapped his arms around me, pressing my face into his chest and rocking me slowly.

I had thought I was all cried out, but being wrapped up in Rick’s arms started my waterworks over and I huddled into his chest as the second wave started. He rubbed my back and placed kisses on my head trying to soothe my hiccupping and snotty state that the tears had brought on. Once I forced myself to calm down a little, he pulled back and wiped at my face with his own sleeve.

“What is it, baby? You looked upset when you walked off stage. You okay?” He leaned down and looked into my face as he spoke and guilt washed over me again. “Is this about being pulled on stage? Did you not want to sing?” I shook my head no and looked down. I still couldn’t really bring myself to say it to him. “Then what is it?” he asked. He waited another minute and when I didn’t speak, he asked, “Is this about Daryl?”

I finally looked up at his eyes and slowly nodded, a few tears sliding down my cheeks. “I’m sorry baby,” I managed to stutter out before falling to pieces again.

“Hey, hey. Alright, now. Just talk to me,” he said in his sensible, even tone. “Did something happen between you two?” he asked. I looked into his eyes and a worried, serious look bloomed across his face.

“No, baby. Nothing happened,” I replied with a shake of my head. “But…but...”

“But…you like him?” he said slowly. I nodded and looked away shamefaced. Rick pulled my chin up so our eyes met. “Is that all? You like him? You’re attracted to him?”

“Is that all!?” I gave him a dumbfounded, shocked expression. “I’m telling you I like another man, and you ask me is that all?”

“Nothing happened? No kissing? No touching? Nothing like that?” he asked.

“No…well…not really. When…when I told him about his window and the lights and that we watched…he said some things…” I bit my lip and looked away, wringing my hands together nervously.

“What kind of things? Like he was mad?”

I shook my head and wiped at my face one more time. “No…he said…dirty things. Asking if we liked watching him and if I came like a good girl. I ran back in the house, but…”

“But you liked what he said?” Rick asked. He ran a thumb across my cheek to try to calm me down. I nodded to answer his question and he sighed. He pushed my legs apart and sat down the bench between them so now I looked down at him and he looked up at me. He brought my hands to his mouth and he kissed each palm before sitting them back down. “Is this what’s had you off all week? Feelings for Daryl?”

“I guess so…” and I shrugged.

“Did you know you felt this way when you invited him to move in?”

“No baby! I mean I thought he was cute, but I didn’t think I’d like him the way that I do. I never thought this would happen. I thought…” and I sighed as I tried to put the words into place. “I thought that when I found a guy who I loved as much as you, I’d never feel this way for anybody else ever again. That I wouldn’t even need to worry about something like this. But now…”

“Now you know it’s not true?” I nodded at him and he was silent for a minute. “Tell me something baby, through all this, have you loved me any less?” Rick questioned.

“God no! If anything, I love you even more. And that’s what’s so confusing!”

“Is this is why you asked about being with two guys at the same time? When you tried to act like it was so crazy?” and he gave me a small, knowing smile. I sighed and rolled my eyes because Rick could always see right through me and sometimes I hated that. Even so, I still nodded at him. “Tell me something else. If you did have the option to be with Daryl and me, do you think you’d start to love me less and him more?”

I squinted my eyes at his question while I thought about it. The idea of loving Rick any less seemed preposterous to me, but I couldn’t tell if I would fall in love with Daryl or not. “I don’t think I could ever love you less baby. But I can’t say right now whether or not I’d fall in love with Daryl.”

“Okay. Would it make you happy to be with Daryl?”

“I…I don’t know. It feels so wrong to want that. Like…what would people think?”

“Baby, listen to me. No one is in this relationship except me and you,” Rick gestured from his body to mine as he spoke. “What anyone else thinks…it doesn’t matter. We don’t have to live by anyone else’s rules, we can make our own. So, would it make you happy to be with him?”

“I would only be happy as long as I didn’t lose you. That’s what’s most important…” I looked at Rick sincerely and hoped he knew that I spoke the truth.

“If you didn’t lose me, if you got to have us both, what about then?”

“How would you feel about it? Sharing me with another man.” Because while I know it would make me happy, I wasn’t the only one in this relationship. I needed to know if Rick would only be doing this for me. Because if that was the case, then I didn’t think I wanted to do it.

“I think it would be different…” he said slowly. “I think it could be hot and really sexy. I think it could pose a few problems, but I think all relationships go through their own hurdles. It’s not going to be easy and we’re going to have to work really hard at it. But I love you and I’m willing to try anything with you, Beth Greene.” It always made me smile when he used my name like that and it didn’t fail this time. He smiled back at me and said, “And I think Daryl is a good man. I can see why you like him. So is this something you want to try?”

I thought for a second before I nodded. “Yea...I think so. If that’s okay?” I was still so worried that we were going to be ruining everything.

“I think it’s okay,” he said with a small smile. He squeezed my hands and stood from the picnic table. He wiped at my face to pull away the rest of my tears and I smiled at him.

“I’m sorry about all this. About not telling you everything from the get go.” He helped me down off the picnic table and we wrapped our arms around each other and squeezed tight.

“It’s okay baby. I knew something was up, but you always need a little time to figure things out for yourself.” I looked up at him and we kissed for a minute. It was a safe, loving, and reassuring kiss that made me feel better about everything.

After we broke apart, we walked back to the bar holding hands. “You know, this all depends on if Daryl wants to do any of this too,” I said, thinking about how our new houseguest would take all this information.

“Oh, trust me. The way y’all been looking at each other, he’d be a fool not to do it.” I looked up at Rick and wrinkled my brow in confusion. I hadn’t thought me and Daryl had been exchanging too many looks in front of him, but I guess I was wrong. “When you gonna learn baby? I see everything,” Rick said with a wink as he held the back door open for me.

I rolled my eyes and laughed as we walked back inside and headed towards our table. Rick indicated for me to take the seat he had been sitting in before and he sat in my old seat, so now I sat between Rick and Daryl. I looked over at Daryl apprehensively and I hoped my face didn’t look too puffy from crying.

Daryl leaned over and whispered, “You okay?” next to my ear.

I nodded at him and gave him a small, reassuring smile. “I am now,” I whispered back.

Darlene went on like nothing had happened and we ordered the next pitcher of beer. We drank for a little while and eventually Jamie’s band came back on stage after taking their break.

“Alright folks. This here’s a slow one, so hold your baby tight and sway with me.” He started singing a nice slow song and I gently rocked in my seat. I caught Daryl smirking at me and I got an idea.

“You wanna dance?” I asked him abruptly. He was definitely caught off guard by my proposal and looked to Rick.

“Don’t look at me. As long as I don’t gotta do it, I don’t care who she dances with,” and Rick smiled. Daryl finally shrugged his shoulders and stood from his chair, holding out his hand to me. I leaned over and gave Rick a quick peck on the cheek before taking Daryl’s hand and heading to the small dancefloor that the bar had in front of the stage. I placed my hands on Daryl’s shoulders and he put his on my waist, making sure to leave about a foot of room between us. Chuckling at his timidness, I brought us closer together and we slowly swayed to the music.

“I’m not much of a dancer,” Daryl muttered while looking down at me.

“You seem to be doing just fine by me.”

“You really okay? Kinda ran out after you sang on stage…” His eyes had genuine concern in them and that made me feel something akin to comfort.

“I’m okay now. Me and Rick had a talk out back,” I told him.

“’Bout what?”

Biting my lip, I thought about how to phrase this. “About you…and my feelings for you.” Daryl stopped moving on the dance floor and we stood in place for a second before I nudged him to keep going. His face scrunched up in confusion and I had to hold back a laugh because I’d never seen that expression on him before.

“What do you mean?” he muttered, confused. He glanced over towards our table and I looked with him. Rick was watching us and he smiled and waved. I smiled at him and turned back to Daryl.

“I mean that I like you. Probably more than just like you. I’ve been struggling with trying to get my head straight this past week, but when I was up on stage and saw the way you were looking at me…I knew there was nothing I could do. I can’t change my feelings for you…”

Daryl huffed out a breath and looked towards Rick again, then back at me. “What’s Rick got to say ‘bout all this? Should I leave?” He looked genuinely worried and I brought my hand to his cheek and gave him a soft caress. This was the most intimate we’d really ever been and he leaned into my touch, closing his eyes.

“No, you shouldn’t leave. We talked about it. He knows how I feel and that I’ve been having a hard time trying to figure things out. He says he’s willing to try if I am…if you are,” I added gently.

“So…what? You’d be with both of us?” His face still looked a little muddled as he asked his question.

“Well yea. I could never not be with Rick, but I’m slowly finding that I don’t think I’d want to be without you either. Rick is okay with it, so it’s really up to you.” Biting my lip nervously, I tried to gauge his reaction. I hated to make it seem like it was all on him, but it’s not like we could do this without his consent.

Daryl sighed and looked away, taking his time while he processed everything. “I don’t know…” he said quietly.

“How do you feel about me?” I asked, bringing his eyes back to mine.

“I feel alotta things ‘bout you. Probably the nicest person I’ve ever met. You’re beautiful and sexy and amazing…I’d be crazy not to wanna be with you…” Daryl’s eyes looked conflicted as he spoke, but I didn’t look away.

“Then what’s stopping you?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think…I don’t think I can get between you two. If somethin’ went wrong, and y’all ended things because of me, I don’t think I could live with myself. You two…you’re the best people I’ve known in a long time. I don’t wanna fuck everything up.” A firm frown worked its way across his mouth and I knew my face mirrored the same expression. Stepping closer, I rested my head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around me a little more. I could feel his thumb rub small circles into my back and even though I felt a little sad, the closeness we shared made up for it.

“Will you think about, at least?” I whispered into his chest.

I felt him nod against me and we continued our slow swaying until the song ended. Once we pulled apart, I squeezed his hand, gave him a small smile, and we walked back to the table. As we walked up, Rick raised his eyebrows at me, basically asking what had happened on the dance floor. I just shrugged my shoulders and gave him a slight shake of my head to let him know that things hadn’t been decided yet. He nodded and then sat full shot glasses down in front of me and Daryl.

“What’s this?” I asked him.

“I figured y’all might need a shot after that dance,” and he winked at both of us. I chuckled and looked over to Daryl who had let slip a small smile. Picking up my shot glass, I nodded to Daryl to do the same. He picked his up and then we brought them together with a light clink.

“To hope,” I said to him with a small twinkle to my eye before I threw the shot back. I winced as the dark liquor burned its way down my throat and settled warmly in my belly. Daryl tossed his shot back without a problem, which was pretty unsurprising.

“Think I’ll go smoke,” Daryl mumbled and he stood from his chair.

“Want some company?” I heard Rick ask and I looked over at my boyfriend. His face said he wanted to talk and I assumed his aim was to get Daryl’s thoughts on everything that had transpired in the past half hour.

“Sure…” Daryl said with a shrug and he turned to head for the door. I looked to Rick and he gave me a quick kiss before standing and following Daryl out. I bit my lip nervously as I watched them leave, tapping my fingers on the table. A few seconds later, Darlene and her husband came back after finishing a dance and she practically fell into her chair with laughter.

“Where’d the boys go?” she asked, looking at their empty seats.

“Oh, they stepped outside for some air,” I shouted to her as the band started another song on the stage behind us.

“Well I hope no one comes and sweeps you off your feet,” she said with a giggle.

“Oh please,” I waved her off. “After two years of truckers asking me for my number while I pour their coffee, I think I know how to turn down a guy in a bar.”

“Yea, you’re right about that,” and she chuckled. Our waitress came around to clear off our table and I ordered another round of shots. I figured I might need the courage for when Rick and Daryl came back. While we chatted, the waitress returned and sat the small glasses on the table. Darlene went to grab for hers but I made her wait for Rick and Daryl.

After about ten more minutes, they finally came walking back inside. I tried to read both their faces, but they seemed pretty neutral. Damn Rick and his ability to keep a good poker face. After they sat down, I handed them each their shots and we raised them together.

“To new beginnings,” I heard Rick say as the glasses clinked and I quickly turned my head towards him as he smiled at me and threw his shot back. I poured mine down as well and then looked towards Daryl, who made an amused face as I winced at the burn. Then I felt Rick’s arms wrap around my waist as he leaned in and whispered in my ear. “Wanna head out in about ten?”

Turning my head, I gave him a slightly quizzical look. “Really? It’s still early.”

“Well, I think there’s some more important things we could be doing at home…” he said quietly and raised his eyebrows at me, then he nodded towards Daryl. I looked to the other man sitting next to me and wrinkled my brow at him.

“Is that right?” I asked him.

Daryl looked down shyly and nodded as he scratched his nose. “Yea, that’s right.” He mumbled so low, I almost didn’t hear him but the small smirk that played on his lips confirmed what he said and I felt my face split into a huge grin. Before I could stop myself, I leaned forward and practically lunged at him, wrapping my arms tight around his neck. He hugged me back and I felt vibrations through his chest as he chuckled against me.

“Hey, what’s going on over there?” Darlene called out. She had been caught up in clapping along with the music, so thankfully she missed our verbal exchange. I pulled back from Daryl and tried to calm my flushed face.

“Oh, Daryl just promised to fix my car for me. Got a little excited is all. I think we’re gonna head out here in a few. I’m real tired, Darlene.” I hated fibbing to her, but like Rick said, there were more important things we could be doing at home.

“Aw, okay,” she said with an over-emphasized frown. “Well, I’m glad you came out, sweetie. We never get to have any fun together. I think that diner wears us down too much.” While I nodded in agreement, Rick called the waitress over to pay our bill. He gave her some cash and we stood from the table. I walked around and gave Darlene a big hug.

“Have a good night, Darlene. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You too, honey. Be safe getting home.” The men all shook hands and the three of us headed for the front door. As we walked to the truck in silence, my tummy filled with nervous butterflies but I felt more excitement than anything. Climbing into the cab, I looked left at Rick and he smiled at me. Then I looked right at Daryl and he smirked as well. I took the opportunity to slip my hand right hand into Daryl’s and my left into Rick’s and we drove home linked together.


	14. Chapter 14

As we pulled up to the house, my heartrate practically doubled. Rick parked the truck and we all climbed out. After everything, I suddenly felt the urge to pee so when we walked inside, I headed for the stairs. “Be right back,” I called to both men and hopped up the steps, taking my usual two at a time. Walking into the bedroom, I headed right for the bathroom to relieve myself.

Afterwards, I looked at myself in the mirror and cleaned up any smudged makeup leftover from my crying episode at the bar. Pulling the clip from hair, I let the side of it fall down and just tucked it behind my ear. I pulled off my jean jacket and boots and sat them at the foot of the bed. Stopping to look in the mirror one last time, I breathed deeply as I looked over myself. “You can do this, Beth,” I whispered. After one last deep breath, I headed back down the stairs.

When I walked into the living room, both men were sitting on opposite ends of the couch. Rick was shuffling the deck of cards as he took a sip from a beer on the coffee table. “Hey, whatcha playing?” I asked as I sat down in between the two and grabbed an unoccupied beer from the coffee table and took a gulp.

“We hadn’t decided yet. What do you wanna play?” Rick asked.

“Oh, I don’t care. Nothing too crazy. I been drinking and you know I can’t hold a poker face when that happens.” Daryl chuckled next to me and I just stuck my tongue out at him.

“Alright, Five Card Draw it is. Deuces wild,” said Rick and I groaned as he dealt the cards. He winked at me as we started to play and I quickly lost the first hand. A few hands and a couple beers later, we were all tied up, each having won two hands each. I was feeling pretty tipsy and I wondered if Rick and Daryl were feeling the same.

“Okay. Last hand. Winner take all,” Rick said as he dealt the last round. Looking at my cards, I had a pair of queens, one king, one five, and an eight. I put down the five and the eight and took two cards. When I brought them into my hand, I tried to hold back a smile when I realized I had drawn a king and a two, giving me a full house. I looked slyly left and right to see if Rick or Daryl were giving anything away, but they sat there with stone faces.

We finally laid our hands out on the coffee table and I looked left and right to see what they had. To my pleasant surprise, neither one had anything to beat my hand. Jumping up from the couch, I hopped up in down with my arms in the air because I won. “Haha! I beat you! I beat you!” I shouted as I pointed to Rick and Daryl.

They smiled at one another and then back at me while I danced around and drunkenly teased the two. Finally, Rick grabbed me by my waist and pulled me onto the couch, holding my arms down with his own. “Daryl, I think you gotta teach this little lady a lesson on how to be humble when you win. Remember, go for the neck.”

Daryl hadn’t forgotten though and soon he was wiggling his fingers all around my neck, making me scream and squirm under Rick’s grasp. After a few moments of torture, he stopped his tickling and asked, “You give?”

“Never!” I shouted at him and he went back to tormenting me, this time with a little more fervor. I could hear the two men chuckling as they took me to task and after a minute they finally stopped as I tried to catch my breath. My chest, neck and face all felt warm as my flushed skin tried to return to its normal paleness. “Y’all are so mean…” I pouted to both men.

“Aw…we’d never hurt you on purpose, baby,” Rick said, gently cuddling me into his arms. He brushed my hair back and started to place gentle kisses on my neck. Closing my eyes and sighing, I relaxed into his embrace and enjoyed the sensation of his lips on my skin. Slowly I turned my head towards him and our mouths connected in a fiery kiss. I squeezed his arms that wrapped around my waist while I opened my mouth and our tongues tasted one another.

After a second, he pulled back and nudged me with his nose. I turned my head and looked at the man that sat at the other end of the couch. Daryl leaned back against the arm of the sofa and watched us quietly. His eyes seemed dark but not in a bad way, in a way that said he wanted to be a part of this. I gave Rick a quick kiss before I pulled out of his arms and scooted towards Daryl.

I leaned up on my knees and grabbed his hands, wrapping them around my waist as I leaned in closer to him. He gripped my petite frame and exhaled loudly. We were only a few inches apart and I could feel his warm breath on my mouth. Bringing my hands to the sides of his face, I brushed a thumb across his cheek as I brought my lips closer to his.

“You sure ‘bout this?” he asked nervously, our faces only an inch apart.

“Yea…I’m sure,” I whispered. Our mouths came together and it was like a firework went off inside of my body. An electric current worked its way up through him and straight into me as we finally made contact. Although he was shy before we kissed, as soon as our lips touched, it was like there was no more going back and he pulled me tight into him as he rubbed his hands up and down my back.

His lips felt so different from Rick’s. While Rick’s mouth was full and soft, Daryl’s kiss was firm and insistent but every bit as amazing as I had imagined it to be. I ran my hands through his shaggy hair and finally his lips parted, granting me access to his beautiful mouth. My tongue darted its way into his and when I finally tasted him, I couldn’t help but smile gleefully. His mouth tasted faintly of tobacco and even though I hated smoking, I couldn’t get enough of it from him. We lapped at one another for a minute or so before I pulled back and turned to look at Rick. Now that we had stepped over that line, I needed to know that he was okay with it.

My boyfriend sat at the other end and had a thoughtful look on his face as he watched us. I was almost tempted to ask him if he was alright, but I glanced down and saw an all-too-familiar bulge in his pants that made me smile. I grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the middle of the couch, sitting partially on his lap while my body still faced Daryl.

Bringing my lips to Rick, Daryl started to kiss my neck and chest while his hands dragged up and down my body. For a minute, I went back and forth between kissing both men and it was almost dizzying trying to keep up. Finally Daryl pulled back and so did Rick. My boyfriend brought his hands to the straps of my dress, raising his eyebrows at me to ask if it was okay. Giving him a short nod, he untied one strap and then the other and as the strings fell, he gave each shoulder a soft kiss.

Then he looked towards Daryl and gave him a brief nod. Daryl took his cue and while he slowly kissed at my neck, he brought his hands to the top of my dress and gently pulled it down, exposing my small and perky breasts. The cool air hit them and instantly my nipples turned to hard, light pink peaks. When Daryl pulled back, he looked down and a slow sigh slipped past his lips and he looked up at my face like I was torturing him. Throwing my head back and laughing at him, Daryl let loose a low growl and took one of the stiff nipples in his mouth, immediately cutting off any amusement that I had before.

This time I leaned my head back in pleasure and Rick took over the task of kissing at my neck, occasionally nibbling and licking at my ear as well. When I looked back down, Daryl switched to my other breast and watching him work created the most delicious warm feeling that spread from the center of my body to each limb. Reaching my arms behind me, I searched for the bulge that was pushing out from Rick’s pants and when my hands found what I was looking for, I started to rub him through the denim and he gave me an appreciative, low moan.

Then Rick leaned back on the couch, pulling me with him, and he reached his hands down, tugging the hem of my dress up. Daryl lifted his lips from my breasts and when our eyes met, the look of lust that I saw in him had me squeezing my thighs together. Once Rick had my dress up far enough to show my panties, Daryl looked up at him and for a second they had a silent conversation while I waited patiently.

They seemed to agree on something and Daryl brought his hands to my hips, hooked his fingers into the waistband of my cotton hipsters and ever so slowly dragged them down to my ankles. He pulled them off and sat them on the coffee table before he brought his gaze back to me. Hooking his hands behind my knees, he pulled my body further down the couch, basically laying me down as he scooted to the floor of the living room.

My head was in Rick’s lap for a second before he decided to move to the floor too. He started to kiss me and run a hand through my hair while I felt Daryl’s hands run from my hips, down my thighs, and then finally to my knees where he slowly pulled my legs apart. I heard a low groan from near the lower half of my body and I broke my kiss with Rick to look down. Daryl had laid his head on my knee and he his hands gripped my legs tight as his eyes stared at where my thighs met.

“Told you, man. The prettiest pussy you’ve ever seen,” said Rick and I scoffed at him while my entire body flushed a deep crimson. “Just wait ‘til you taste her…” he mumbled as he put a hand behind my neck to help hold my head up. Daryl just smirked at him and then at me, lifting his head up and leaning towards my center.

Using both hands, he spread me open and he brought his mouth to my wetness. As soon as I felt the touch of his rough tongue against me, I groaned and let my head fall back. My eyes fell to Rick and I watched him as he watched Daryl go to work with his beautiful mouth. If I had any doubts about Rick enjoying this, they quickly faded as I watched his eyes fill with lust and felt his hand rub at my breasts, tweaking my nipples between his thumb and forefinger.

Watching Rick enjoy this had me going almost as much as Daryl’s magnificent tongue and I pulled at my boyfriend’s shirt while I writhed in pleasure. Daryl used a mixture of flicking his tongue and running it in circles against my sensitive bud. Each maneuver had my pleasure building and I knew I was moaning loudly but I couldn’t hold back.

I could feel my peak not far off, but I needed just a little more to send me over the edge. While I tried to keep my hips from wiggling and my panting under control, I pulled at Rick’s shirt and he looked down at my eyes. “What do you need baby? You want his fingers? Need that pussy fucked?” he asked, still rubbing his hand across my breasts. I bit my lip and nodded, glancing down at Daryl who saw me giving the affirmative.

Pulling back, he sucked his middle finger into his mouth and then ran it along my slit until he dipped it into my entrance. Once he was inside me, he brought his tongue back to my clit and started to move his finger in time with each lick of his tongue. I knew I was close and I grabbed the collar of Rick’s shirt and pulled him down, bringing our lips together. He gripped a hand in my hair and tugged hard, moving his lips to my ear.

“You like that baby?” he whispered. “You like Daryl fucking you with his hand while he licks that sweet little clit?” Whimpering slightly, I nodded with my eyes squeezed shut as I felt my orgasm fast approaching. “You gonna come for us, baby? You gonna be a good girl and come?” With those words, pleasure exploded across my body and I cried out as my thighs locked onto Daryl’s head.

My hand was still holding onto Rick’s collar and he smiled as he pulled my tight grip from it and gently kissed my hand while the last waves of pleasure rocked my body. Easing my legs open, I felt Daryl pull back and he smiled as he wiped at his mouth. I smiled at both men while I caught my breath and Rick helped me sit up, both men returning to the couch. Lazily, I turned to Rick and gave him a quick kiss and then went to Daryl and kissed him as well. Smelling myself on his mouth made me smile and blush a little, and I shyly wiped a hand along my face to cover some of my slight embarrassment.

After that, I wasn’t exactly sure what to do next and I felt Rick rub his hands on my shoulders. “Baby, why don’t you show Daryl how good you are with that beautiful mouth?” Smiling at Rick’s suggestion, I turned to him and gave him a brief kiss before I turned my attention back to Daryl.

Sliding up to him, I kissed his mouth slowly, running my hands through his hair while he ran his across my bare back. Pulling away from his lips, I trailed mine down his neck, gently teasing the tender flesh with my teeth. I heard Daryl sigh and he ran his hands through my hair as I worked my way down. He still had his shirt on, so grabbed the hem of it and pulled upwards. Raising his hands and leaning forward, the shirt came up easily enough and I sat it on the coffee table next to my panties.

I ran my hands across his chest and stomach and smiled because I had wanted to touch him like this so much. He gave me one of his signature smirks and looked up at me through his mess of shaggy hair. Finally, I brought my hands down to his crotch and gave the stiff erection that stood up through his pants a quick squeeze before I unbuttoned him and slid the zipper down.

When his long, hard cock sprang free I couldn’t help but laugh a little. “What’s so funny?” Daryl asked through hooded eyes as he ran a hand across my exposed breasts.

Blushing a little, I replied, “Oh…nothing. I had been wondering…’bout the underwear.” Daryl chuckled at me and shrugged his shoulders.

“Yea…never really liked ‘em,” he mumbled. I looked behind me and saw Rick had an amused expression on his face and I rolled my eyes at him. Turning back around, I took my hand and ran it lightly up and down the velvety smooth skin of Daryl’s stiff, sizable length. He wasn’t quite as thick as Rick, but he had at least an inch on him in length and I knew there was no way I was going to be able to fit that whole thing in my mouth, but that wouldn’t stop me from trying.

Wrapping my small fingers around his base, I stroked him all the way to the head and then back down, going slow while I got the feel of him. Daryl bit back a groan, which only served to encourage me so I licked my lips and took him into my mouth. As soon as my tongue touched him, he let out a small gasp and bucked his hips a little. My hair was falling in my face, so he wrapped it up in his hand and held it back for me while I pleasured him.

Lowering my mouth further, I swirled my tongue around the head of his hardness and continued to run my hand up and down his shaft. Daryl started to grunt between gritted teeth while I felt Rick get close behind me. My boyfriend rested a hand on my hip while he brought the other between my legs and guided his fingers right to my clit. He gave me a few teasing rubs until I was pushing my hips back and outward to give him better access, which in return lowered my mouth further down onto Daryl.

Rick spread my thighs a little further apart and I felt him shift his weight so he was on his knees behind me. I heard the vague sounds of clothing coming undone and only a second later, I felt the head of Rick’s hard cock positioned at my entrance. While he rubbed a soothing hand on my lower back, I felt him push into me and I groaned onto Daryl’s cock as my boyfriend filled me inch by inch.

Once he was fully inside me, Rick leaned over and placed a few soft kisses on my back. “You okay, baby?” I heard him whisper.

Pulling Daryl from my mouth, I nodded and replied, “Yea baby…Don’t stop…” I felt his mouth smile against me before he sat back up and slowly pulled out, only to push right back into me. Moaning lightly, I put my mouth back to work and as Rick thrusted into me from behind, my head bobbed up and down on Daryl’s cock.

I could hear Daryl’s breath steadily increase, as did his grip on my hair, and even though my pleasure was building from Rick, I tried to stay focused on pushing Daryl over the edge. Feeling him get even harder in my mouth, I could tell he was getting close. Using my tongue, I licked and sucked at every inch I could get past my lips while using my hand to stroke the rest. Soon, Daryl started to jerk his hips and grunt heavily through gritted teeth.

Feeling him spill into the back of my throat, I greedily swallowed every drop that I could. When I brought my head back up, I saw his face was awash in a blissful afterglow that made me smile. He grabbed my face with both hands and dragged our mouths together, slipping his tongue past my lips to where I knew he could taste what was left of him on my tongue.

As we kissed, Rick’s arousal was amped up and he started to push into me with even more vigor. I started to moan into Daryl’s mouth and I felt him slip a hand underneath my body. Snaking his way past my breasts and down my stomach, he reached right between my thighs and started to rub rough, quick circles in my clit.

It felt like all my senses were on overload and having stimulation from both pleasure centers made my orgasm crash over me in a matter of seconds. Pulling away from Daryl’s mouth, I fell into his lap and cried out as wave after wave pulsed through my body. It felt like my orgasm wasn’t ever going to stop until I felt Rick dig his nails into my hips and with a low groan he came inside me. He leaned over my back and held me tight to him as he drove the last few thrusts into me.

All three of us stayed like that for a moment. My head in Daryl’s lap, he absentmindedly ran a hand through my hair, and Rick behind me, resting his head on my back as we both caught our breath. After a minute, I slowly sat up and pulled the top of my dress back up and smoothed the bottom down to make myself decent. Rick and Daryl tucked themselves back into their pants and we were all quiet. I ended up sitting with my back against Daryl’s chest and my legs in Rick’s lap. Rick rubbed my smooth calves, occasionally tickling my feet, and Daryl stroked my hair.

The silence finally got to me though and I said the only thing I could think to say. “Well…we should definitely do that again…soon.” Rick’s face broke out into a huge grin and I could feel the beginning vibrations of Daryl’s laughter in my back. Pretty soon we were all laughing and for the first time in a week, I felt completely at peace.


	15. Chapter 15

When I woke up the next morning, I stretched as a huge grin swept across my face. I recalled all the events from the night before and just how delicious they really were. I couldn’t believe we had done that, but it was amazing and I couldn’t wait to do it again. When I turned over, I saw Rick was still fast asleep and I wondered if Daryl was too. After our adventures last night, I started to doze off on the couch and Rick ended up carrying me to the bed, but not before Daryl kissed me goodnight and headed off to his own room.

Rick was sprawled out on his back, limbs tossed in all directions, so I scooted up to him and laid my head on his shoulder. Slowly, I started poking him in different spots on his face until his eyes fluttered open and he pushed my hand away with a small frown. “Damn, baby. After last night, can’t you let your man get some rest…well, one of your men,” and he gave me a sleepy wink.

My smile got even bigger as I listened to his sleepy musings and I couldn’t help but give him a big, good morning kiss once he finished. “So…it was okay then?” I asked him, trying to keep any trace of worry out of my voice even though I felt some apprehension at asking him about last night.

“Yea, it was more than okay, baby. It was really hot and sexy. And you looked really happy afterwards.” As he spoke, he brushed some hair out of my eyes and ran his thumb across my cheek.

“I was REALLY happy,” I said, putting emphasis on the really. “I still am. So you still feel the same way? Last night didn’t change anything after actually seeing it?”

“No, baby. Nothing’s changed. You’re still you. I’m still me. Only now, we have Daryl to add to our lives. Do YOU still feel the same way?”

I didn’t even hesitate before I answered my boyfriend. “Yea, I do…definitely.” Rick smiled at me and squeezed me tight to him. “So…what did you say to him last night? At the bar. What changed his mind?” I had been wondering this all of last night but other matters had grabbed my attention before I could ask Rick.

“Just told him how good you were with those lips,” and he gave me a salacious smile.

“Oh hush! C’mon, baby. What’d you say?” I begged.

“Alright, alright. I just told him…how amazing you are. And that to pass this up would be a really bad idea…because he’ll never find another woman like you and he’d always regret it if he said no. We don’t know what the future holds and if this will work out or if it won’t, but don’t let the fear of it not working ruin the chances of it being one of the best decisions we ever made.” Rick shrugged his shoulders and I looked up at him for a second with my mouth open. Sometimes this man was so insightful, it blew my mind and caused me to be completely speechless. “And I said your pussy felt like heaven and if he said no, he’d always be jerking off thinking about what he missed out on.”

And then he said things like that. I gave him a light smack on the chest and erupted into a fit of giggles. “Well, no matter what you said, I’m glad it worked!”

“Me too…” he mumbled, bringing me in for a sexy good morning kiss. I started to feel a little flustered, but he ended up pulling away and giving my butt a light smack.

“Coffee?” I asked him, even though I never needed to ask. This man lived for his coffee. We both crawled from the warm comfort of our bed and threw on some clothes, although the need to look decent wasn’t really a priority anymore since our roommate had seen us in more than one compromising position last night. Heading downstairs, I saw the coffee hadn’t been started and thought Daryl must not have gotten up yet.

Once it was brewed, Rick grabbed the mugs and sat them down in front me. After I filled two though, I saw I had one more to go and looked to my boyfriend. “Maybe you wanna go give Daryl some coffee and talk things over?” Rick suggested and I smiled at him as I filled the third mug. Rick picked his up and headed towards the living room while I grabbed mine and Daryl’s and headed out the back door.

Leah ended up running out with me and followed me to the garage. I walked inside and slowly padded my way up the steps, hoping I wasn’t going to catch him in any compromising position. What I found instead was that he was still fast asleep in the bed. Stopping at the top step, I watched him for a  minute as the morning light filtered through his window and cast a warm glow across his face. He looked so peaceful and I almost wished I had woken up to that sight.

Leah was much more impatient than me though, and after a second she pounced her way past me and walked into Daryl’s room. At first she sniffed all around the floor, but quickly she realized that what she really wanted was on the bed and in one big leap, she jumped up and started to paw at Daryl. He woke with a start but once he realized it was just Leah, he laid his head back on the pillow and gave her a pat while a slow smile played on his lips.

“Morning,” I mumbled lightly. He turned his head when he heard my voice and seemed surprised to see me standing at the top of his steps.

“Mornin’,” he replied in his usual gruff voice. Walking into his room, I sat the coffee cups down on the desk and made my way over to him. I lightly sat down on the edge of his bed and scratched my head, a little unsure of what to say.

“Sleep good?” The words came tumbling out of my mouth and I smiled nervously, fidgeting with hands.

Daryl saw how flustered I was and he took his hands and placed them on my restless ones. “Yea…better than I have in a long time. Come here,” he said and he lifted up his covers, inviting me into his bed. A small laugh slipped past my lips as I turned and tucked my body next to his underneath the quilt that I had brought with me when I moved into Rick’s house. Daryl was shirtless, but he wore the gym shorts that I gave him while I wore a pair of yoga pants and a hoodie.

Even though we were clothed, this felt like such an intimate moment. He turned onto his side so we were facing each other, our heads resting on the same pillow. Bringing a hand up, he sighed as he ran his fingers through my mess of curls. “You’re beautiful, ya know…” he whispered lightly into the morning air.

I smiled bashfully and felt my face flush about three different shades of red. “Well, you’re pretty good looking yourself. Not to mention just an all-around amazing person,” I replied. He smirked at me and we laid in silence for a moment. Curiosity got the best of me though. “So…what’d you think of last night?”

Now he was the one who was blushing and bashful and I had to hold back a laugh at seeing such a tough man act that way. “It was…it was real good,” he managed to stutter out.

“Was it? I mean, were you really okay with it? I’ve already had this talk with Rick, so now I need to know how you feel about it.” Feeling emboldened by last night’s adventures, I asked him my questions directly. I didn’t feel like there was any need to beat around the bush at this point.

“Yea? What’d he say?”

“Uh-uh,” I shook my head at him. “Tell me what you’re thinking and I’ll tell you what he said.” Daryl rolled his eyes at me and sighed, but his eyes told me that he was amused.

“I think…that I liked it. Sharing you with Rick…well, it's different but not in a bad way. Like you said last night, it’s something that we should do again…and soon.” Daryl gave me one his expressions that was hard to read but I noted a twinkle in his eye and that made me smile.

“Well, good. And Rick felt the same, by the way,” I added.

Daryl continued to run his fingers through my hair, steadily untangling the knots. “So, we know how I feel, we know how Rick feels. How do you feel?” he asked quietly.

“I feel…” and I thought for a second of how to describe it. I decided to go simple and just said, “…happy.” Daryl’s hand stopped moving and he watched me for a second before he leaned forward and brought his lips to mine. This was technically the first time we got to kiss alone and it felt just as magnificent as it had last night.

Wrapping his arms around my waist, he pulled me in tight and I tangled my hands in his dark, shaggy hair while our mouths got to know each other. The taste of tobacco had faded during the night and I tasted the true Daryl. His kiss was intoxicating and I felt dizzy after just a minute of contact with him. The tips of our tongues teased one another and I smiled into our kiss as a happy buzz danced through my body.

After a minute though, I heard feet padding up the steps and a throat clear itself behind me. Breaking my wonderful make out session with Daryl, I turned over and found Rick leaning against the wall on the top step with a small smirk on his face. “Hate to break this up baby, but it’s after 9:30,” and Rick nodded at the clock Daryl had set up on his desk.

“Oh shit…” I groaned. I had less than half an hour to get to work. Turning back to Daryl, I gave him a brief kiss and climbed out of bed. “Gotta go. Lee’s gonna tan my hide if I’m late,” I said frantically as I grabbed my coffee cup and walked past Rick and double timed it back into the house.

Tossing back my coffee which was already cold, I ran up to my bedroom and threw my uniform on. After throwing my hair into a ponytail, I shoved on socks and shoes and ran back down the steps. Checking my cell phone, I had ten minutes to get to the diner. Grabbing my purse, I looked around the house, but Rick wasn’t inside so I headed out to the driveway to see him walking down the steps of the garage with Daryl following behind him.

Walking up to the two men, I gave each one a brief kiss, only blushing slightly at the idea of having two men to kiss goodbye now. “Alright. I’m going. Y’all be good today. No more getting drunk and shooting off guns!” I yelled as I swung open the door to the Saturn and climbed in the driver’s seat. They both had amused looks on their faces as I started the engine and pulled out of the driveway.

Pulling up to the diner, I glanced at the clock and saw that I was 3 minutes late, mainly because I got stuck behind a tractor on the way here. Another plus side to living in the south. Grabbing my bag, I dashed out of my car and walked in the back door only to stop dead in my tracks because Lee was standing in the kitchen. He gave me one his looks that said I was in for it. Sighing, he glanced at the watch on his wrist and clicked his tongue. “Beth, you’re late. You know how I feel about that.”

“I’m sorry, Lee. Won’t happen again,” I mumbled, glancing left at Raul and Ricardo. Both of the kitchen workers gave me sympathetic looks as they tried to look busy. The last thing they wanted to do was get on Lee’s bad side when he was already in a poor mood due to my tardiness.

“Well, it better not Beth. Now get out there and get to work. Darlene’s got her hands full.” I nodded solemnly and walked through the kitchen door and out to the front of the diner. I almost rolled my eyes when I looked around and saw that there was all of three customers sitting at tables, but Lee followed me out so I made sure to get to work right away. Darlene gave me a brief hello before she made herself scarce.

I spent the day watching my back because Lee made it a point to poke his head out of the kitchen door about every ten minutes. I just knew he was trying to catch me doing something wrong so I made it a point to stay on my A-game. Just as Darlene was leaving, we took the chance to chat for a second before she headed out the door. “So, how late did you and Larry stay out?” I asked her.

“Oh, not much longer than you guys. We had one more dance and then headed home. What did you guys do after you left?”

“Um…” I thought of a way to respond to that. I couldn’t tell her what we really did but just thinking about it brought heat to my face. “Nothing. Went to bed. Slept too late which made me late here,” and I rolled my eyes at her because of how annoying our manager had been today.

“Yea? You sure Rick didn’t keep you up too late?” and she gave me a sly wink.

I laughed quietly and smiled at her. “Maybe…” I conceded.

“Uh huh. See? I’m always right. Well I’m going home sweetie. Have a good night. Lee should leave soon and hopefully after today, he’ll stay off your back. Go home and get some more of that good lovin!”

“Darlene!” I said in a scandalized voice. I laughed and gave her a quick hug before she headed out the door. I spent the rest of my shift running around and trying to stay busy until it was finally over. Pulling off my apron, I counted my measly tips and grabbed my bag. Heading for the back door, I waved goodbye to the night cook and drove the short drive home.

Pulling into the garage, I cut the engine to my car and climbed out. I almost headed for the house, but curiosity got the better of me and I ran up the steps to Daryl’s room and peeked inside. It was empty so I ran back down and walked around to the back door. Stepping into the kitchen, I was pleasantly surprised to find both men sitting at the kitchen table. They were both sipping beers and talking animatedly about something before they saw me walk in and they cut their conversation short.

“Hey. What’re you guys doing?” I asked, tossing my bag on the table. I walked up to Rick and sat on his lap, leaning back and propping my feet up on Daryl’s legs. Rick wrapped his arms around me and kissed my cheek while Daryl ran his hands up and down my legs. This was definitely a nice way to come home.

“Nothing much. Waiting on you to get home so we could eat,” Rick said into my neck.

“Yea? What’re we eating?” I asked both men. Daryl nodded to the stove and I saw a couple pots sitting on top of it. Pulling my tired body up, I walked over and checked out what was on the warm burner. Opening the lids, I saw linguine noodles as well as chicken with broccoli sitting in what looked to be a cream sauce. “Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo?”

“Yea. One of the easy things I know how to cook,” Daryl mumbled, looking down shyly. I smiled at him and walked over to where he was sitting. Leaning down, I gave him a kiss as well as a hug, burying my face into his neck and breathing  in his musky smell.

“I’m sure it’ll be great,” I whispered to him. Pulling back, I saw him smile and shrug. “Well, I’m gonna go change and then we’ll eat.” Getting nods in response, I headed up the steps and quickly changed. As I turned the bedroom light off, I saw something catch my attention in our spare room and I flicked the light on to see what it was. To my surprise, the room had been completely organized.

Shelves had been built and there was a cabinet along the wall as well. Instead of a room full of miscellaneous items, everything had been put away neatly and I could see that there was actually some space in here for something else now. A small glow of happiness worked its way into my chest and I felt very thankful to have such thoughtful men in my life.

When I made my way back down to the kitchen, I gave Daryl a big hug and kiss and then did the same to Rick. They smiled at me and Rick said, “Daryl, I think she saw the room upstairs.”

“Yea, looks that way,” said Daryl and they chuckled while I showed them my gratitude by making plates for everyone.

“What brought that on? And where’d those shelves and the cabinet come from?” I asked.

“Well, I knew that room’s been bugging you. Figured since we had the day off, we could do something to make you happy. And Daryl built the shelves and cabinet,” Rick replied as I sat the plates down on the table and took my seat.

“Don’t listen to him. Rick helped make everything,” Daryl countered.

“Oh yea. Measuring's a real big help, ain’t it?” Rick said sarcastically and both men chuckled. I smiled because their banter made me happy. It was nice to see Rick make a friend who wasn’t on the force.

“How much did all this happen to cost?” I asked curiously.

“It wasn’t too much, but it came from the Daryl Dixon fund anyways,” Rick shrugged.

I looked to Daryl with a slightly confused expression. “Got paid for my first week,” Daryl explained.

“Oh, okay. Well, you don’t have to go spending your money on stuff like that. There’s plenty of other things you need. Clothes, stuff for your room…” Frowning slightly, I couldn’t help but feel bad about him using money on something for the house when he had so little of his own.

“Got some of that stuff too. But I wanted to do that,” and he nodded upwards, indicating everything upstairs. “Rick mentioned it this morning. Felt like the right thing to do. Y’all been so good to me, and I mean real good,” and he raised his eyebrows suggestively, making me and Rick laugh out loud.

“Well, thank you. Really, thank you. That was so nice of you. Both of you,” I said, making sure Rick knew that I was grateful to him as well. We dug into dinner, which happened to be delicious and once we were finished, Rick did the dishes and we all retired to the living room.

We sat on the couch similar to last night, me leaning against Daryl with my legs in Rick’s lap. As Rick flipped the TV on, I realized that I was totally not in the mood to watch it. I ended up unintentionally sighing and Rick looked over to me. “Not in the mood tonight?” he asked.

Shrugging my shoulders, I scrunched up my face. “Mmmm, not really.”

Daryl brushed hair away from my face and rubbed a hand on my shoulder. “How ‘bout you go get your guitar and play us something?” he asked quietly.

“Oh gosh,” I said bashfully. I never knew what to say when people put me on the spot like that. “Why?”

“Maybe ‘cause you never told me you played or sang so good until I saw it for myself last night,” Daryl said indignantly.

“Oh…well…I didn’t think to bring it up, I guess. I don’t know…” I mumbled.

“Aw, c’mon baby. Play something for us,” Rick encouraged. He jumped up off the couch and before I knew it he had ran upstairs and grabbed my guitar, bringing it to me on the couch. I sighed at both men and sat up as he handed it to me. Crossing my legs, I rested the guitar against me and took a minute to tune it.

Once it was set, I looked over to Daryl. “Alright. What should I play then?”

“Hmm…” he thought for a second. “You pick,” he said, looking to Rick who sat on the other side of me.

Looking to my boyfriend, he took all of three seconds to decide. “You know what I like to hear,” he said with a sly smile.

Grinning, I started to find the beginning chords to “Blackbird.” Rick was always a sucker for the Beatles. As I sang along, I glanced to Daryl and he was smiling just as big as Rick and I felt a little glow of happiness start to build up inside of me.

Once I finished the song, Rick leaned over and gave me a kiss. Then I felt the guitar get lifted from my arms and I looked over as Daryl settled it into his lap. “You play?” I asked in disbelief. He had never mentioned knowing how to play the guitar.

“Only a little. Been years though,” he mumbled. He played around with it until he got the hang of the old acoustic guitar I’d had for years and years. Finally, he started to strum something a little familiar and I smiled. “Know this one?” he asked.

Nodding to him, I started to sing the first lines of the song. “A long, long time ago…I can still remember…” When we were little, Daddy use to play this record and me and Maggie would dance around the living room singing along to “American Pie.”

Once we got to the chorus, Rick chimed in and then so did Daryl and we were all singing together. “Bye-bye miss american pie…Drove my chevy to the levee but the levee was dry…And good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye…Singing this will be the day that I die…”

By the time we were finished, we were all red in the face with laughter and I gave Daryl a kiss. I only meant for it to be a brief peck, but his lips felt so good that it turned into a deep kiss and I felt something stir inside of me. Grabbing the guitar from his hands, I stood up and headed for the stairs.

“Hey, where you goin’?” Daryl asked, turning his head to watch me walk away.

“To the bedroom. Y’all coming?” and I raised my eyebrows at both of them to let them know that sleeping was the last thing I had in mind. Daryl looked to Rick with his own raised eyebrows and then they both jumped off the couch and made a mad dash to follow me upstairs.


	16. Chapter 16

Giggling, I ran up the steps and quickly deposited my guitar in the spare room before I slipped into the bedroom. Placing myself on the bed in what I hoped to be a somewhat seductive pose, both men made it to the door way at the same time and tried to enter together but their shoulders were too wide and they got caught in the doorway.

I fell into a fit of laughter at watching my over-eager men. Daryl stepped back to let Rick go in first and he fell on the bed and started to tickle my sides a little. “What’re you laughing at? Huh?” he teased. Daryl sat on the bench at the foot of the bed and watched while Rick accosted me.

Shoving his hands away, I turned over and pulled Rick's face to mine, crashing our lips together. His entire body language changed as we kissed each other and instead of tickling my sides, he started to caress them. My hands ran down his back and I slipped them underneath his shirt, running my fingers along his smooth muscles. Breaking our kiss, I turned my head and looked at Daryl. Reaching a hand out to him, I asked, “What’re you doing way over there?”

He smirked from the bench but stayed in place. “Thought I might watch first. Figured y’all owed me a show since I already gave y’all one,” and he nodded to the window that faced the garage. I laughed at him but Rick kind of groaned and buried his face into my neck. I looked down at him and he was red with embarrassment. I guess they hadn’t ever talked about that.

“I’m sorry about that,” Rick mumbled towards Daryl but against my skin. I giggled a little and looked back over to Daryl who looked just as amused at Rick’s reaction as I did.

“Nah, S’cool man. What I get for jerkin’ off with the light on. And I think someone liked it…” and he gave me a knowing look. “Mind if I smoke?” he asked me and I shook my head. Pulling out his smokes, he slowly lit one and nodded for us to continue. I stuck my tongue out at him and he waved it off. “Later,” he said and gave me a wink.

Chuckling, I finally pulled Rick’s face away from my neck and brought his mouth back to mine. Flipping over, I put my body on top of his as he wrapped his arms around me. I lapped at his beautiful lips and made my way to his neck, giving him a few teasing bites. Then I went to his ear and dipped my tongue in. Rick hissed out a small groan and gripped my hips, lifting his pelvis into me. I could already feel his erection poking through his pants and I circled my lower body to give him some of that friction that he desired.

He sighed and brought his hands to the hem of my shirt. Pulling upwards, he brought the shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor. I hadn’t bothered with a bra so my breasts were immediately exposed and they stood at attention for him, each nipple stiff and pink. Rick smirked and pulled my chest down towards him and his mouth kissed each breast before he pulled a nipple between his lips.

Humming in pleasure, I weaved my hands through Rick’s curls and looked over at Daryl. He took a puff off his cigarette while he watched with focused eyes. Rick pulled back and ended up flipping us over so now I was on my back. I reached for Rick’s shirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it with mine and he grabbed the waistband of my pants and pulled them down, along with my underwear.

Spreading my legs, he quickly delved his tongue between my lower lips and lapped at my clit. I quickly inhaled and my back arched off the bed as pleasure started to build throughout my body. Rick’s hand guided their way up my stomach until he reached my breasts and started to tweak each nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Looking down and watching him, I bit my lip and whimpered at such a sexy sight.

I sat up and pulled his head from between my legs. He almost protested as he stood up, but I made quick work of his pants and had them pulled down and his hard cock pulled free in a matter of seconds. Without hesitation, I brought him into my mouth, taking him as far as I could go and he groaned loudly at the sudden change in sensations. Tangling his hands into my hair, I bobbed up and down on his thick cock for a minute until I pulled back and gave him a look to let him know that I wanted him inside of me.

Rick pulled his pants off the rest of the way and climbed on top of me as I laid back. Spreading my legs, he lined himself up and pushed his hard length inside of me. My eyes practically rolled into the back of my head and I turned to look at Daryl. He had lit a second cigarette and was already halfway through with it. While I groaned from Rick entering me, he bit his lip and I could see the lust fill his blue eyes.

Rick didn’t bother taking his time and quickly set a steady pace that had me moaning with every thrust. At first, he held me tight to him while he worked his hips and I scratched at his back while sloppily kissing his mouth. Then he changed position and sat up on his knees and brought my feet to his shoulders. He knew I loved it like this and we both smiled as I groaned, “Oh, fuck…”

When I looked towards Daryl he had put his cigarette out and already taken his shirt off. I watched him pull his pants down and when he stood back up, his long cock was already standing straight up. The sight of it had me biting my lip and craving the taste of him. He slowly  walked around the bed and crawled onto it, sitting next to me.

He brought his mouth to mine and I sighed in pleasure. Getting fucked by Rick while kissing this man was like heaven. Daryl pulled away and ran his hands up and down my body and it was like my sensories were on overload, every touch was another shock of pleasure. His hand got all the way down to where my thighs met and he dipped a finger in and lightly ran it across my clit, back and forth. I gasped at the added sensation and Rick took his cue to go even harder and faster.

I felt my orgasm rushing to its peak and I gripped Daryl’s shoulder tight while I groaned through gritted teeth. “Oh god…yes…yes…don’t stop…oh fuck! YES!” I practically screamed as the powerful orgasm hit me all at once and I felt every muscle in my body tense up. My breath came out in ragged gasps and I squeezed my eyes shut as wave after wave rushed through me and my moans turned to whimpers.

I felt Daryl’s hand slip away from my center, but soon felt it move to softly stroke my hair as my pulse returned to its normal pace. Only a second later, I heard Rick grunt loudly as he squeezed my legs to his body while his own orgasm shot through him. He pulled out and laid his head on my belly and I softly stroked his hair while Daryl continued with mine. I looked over at Daryl and gave him a soft smile.

Sitting up, I gave Rick a quick kiss before turning to Daryl and bringing his mouth to my own. While we kissed, I pushed him back onto the bed and moved on top of him. Brushing my wetness against him, I felt a shiver go through his body and I couldn’t help but smile. While we kissed, I felt that he was ready to go, but before I could guide him into me he stopped my hand. “Uh…hate to stop this, but it’s been awhile since I’ve been…” and he bit his lip.

“With someone?” I asked with a curious look. I wasn’t sure what he was getting at.

“Uh…no. Tested. I’ve been with a couple people in the past year, and I was pretty drunk. So I don’t know if I used anything…” and he looked away shamefaced.

“Oh…”I replied. I wasn’t sure what to say to that and I looked to Rick, who held his eyebrows up in surprise as well.

“Hang on,” Rick said and he got up and trotted his naked butt to the bathroom. He came back a second later and tossed a condom at me. I was terrible at catching though and the foil wrapper fell onto Daryl’s chest. Daryl picked it up and looked at it, then back at me. “It’s been awhile since we’ve needed those, but it’s still good,” Rick assured.

“You okay with this?” Daryl asked me.

I smiled at him and nodded. I grabbed the wrapper from his hands and opened it. Pulling the condom free, I scooted down and rolled it onto his erect cock. “I think there’s a free clinic in town. If you want, you can go get tested and afterwards we won’t have to use these,” I said as I moved back on top of him and leaned down to give him a kiss.

“You on the pill?” he asked. I nodded at him and he looked over to Rick. “You cool with that?”

“Yea, don’t see why not,” Rick shrugged and smiled. Before Daryl could say anything back, I raised my hips and guided his cock to my entrance and slowly pushed myself down on top of him.

Gripping my hips tight, Daryl hissed through gritted teeth, “Fuck…” He exhaled loudly and bit his lip while I adjusted to his length. He really was longer than Rick and I sighed with a smile as he filled up every inch of me. 

“See? Told you it was like heaven,” Rick said as he laid down on the bed and propped himself up on his elbow while he watched us.  

“Uh-uh,” Daryl shook his head. “Better.” That made me giggle a little and Daryl groaned as the vibrations of my laughter went down my body and into his. Leaning down, I brought our mouths together and slowly started to rock my hips back and forth.

Within minutes, I was panting away as I bounced up and down on his cock at a steady rhythm. Daryl was groaning hard and rubbing his hands up and down my body. I could feel another orgasm building but I had a feeling he was going to get there before me with the way he was breathing hard and squeezing on me. Finally he gripped my hips in an effort to get me to slow down. “Goddamn. Slow down, sexy. You want this to last or not?” he practically begged.

I just grinned at him devilishly and grabbed his hands, holding them above his head while I went at the same pace. He smiled at me but his eyes rolled into the back of his head and a few seconds later, he was grunting just as hard as Rick had when he came. I kept riding him through his orgasm and I couldn’t help but smile because I finally got to see his face wracked with pleasure. Pulling his arms free, he wrapped them around my body and pulled me into him tight. He slowly pumped into me a few more times while I softly kissed his lips and he tried to catch his breath.

Slowly, I pulled myself off of him and gave him one more brief kiss before I pulled the used condom of his softening member. Daryl blushed a little which made me laugh and I stepped off the bed and went to the bathroom to throw it away. After that, I reached my hand into the shower and turned it on, letting the water heat up for a minute as I walked back to the bed.

Chuckling at what I saw, I couldn’t help but tease both men. They were both naked, laid out on the bed, and their eyes were slowly drifting close. “Oh man, you’d think you guys had the life sucked out of you or something.”

“More like pumped…” Daryl mumbled and Rick chuckled at the man next to him.

“Well I’m gonna hop in the shower since I have the early shift tomorrow,” I called to them from the bathroom doorway.

“You should show Daryl your shower trick, baby,” Rick piped up out of nowhere. He looked up at me with a slight twinkle in eye and I rolled my eyes at him. Daryl looked up as well but he only looked slightly confused.

“It’s not a trick, you’re just amazed by…everything,” and I threw my hands in the air, exasperated.

“Well, he’ll still like it,” and Rick nudged Daryl’s side with his elbow and nodded towards me. Daryl raised his eyebrows at Rick but my boyfriend just gave him another encouraging nod and Daryl finally climbed from the bed and made his way over to the bathroom.

Smiling, I grabbed Daryl’s hand and we made our way to the shower. I stepped in first and the warm spray covered my body as I sighed in relief. Daryl stepped in behind me and I made room for him under the water. Getting my hair wet, Daryl leaned against the shower wall and watched me, his eyes scanning me from top to bottom.

“What?” I asked, blushing a little.

“Mmm…nothin’. Jus’ never seen nothin’ as sexy as you…” Daryl mumbled. I bit my lip and turned my face away in embarrassment. Compliments like that didn’t get thrown my way that often and it was a little disconcerting to hear. “So what’s this trick Rick was goin’ on ‘bout?”

“It’s not a trick, really. Rick just likes to watch me do it.”

“Then let’s see it,” he said, wrapping his arms around me and bringing our water slicked bodies close together.

“Mmm…well I will, but only if you wash my hair for me after.” I loved having my hair washed by someone else, but there was so damn much of it that Rick would hardly ever do it.

Daryl looked at me thoughtfully before he spoke. “That’s alotta damn hair. This better be one good trick,” and he gave me a wink. I smiled and turned around to grab the shower head, quickly turning it to my favorite setting.

Leaning my back against the shower wall, I spread my legs and aimed the showerhead like I always did. Only a minute later and I was crying out as the pulse of the water sent an orgasm shuddering through me. When I opened my eyes, Daryl was staring at me with his mouth open. I looked down and saw that his cock was already half hard again, making me chuckle a little. I don’t know why men found this so fascinating.

Putting the showerhead back in place, I grabbed the bottle of shampoo and handed it to Daryl. He took it without a word and started washing my hair, only poking me occasionally with his semi-erect cock. I sighed happily and relaxed under Daryl’s wonderful hands as they massaged my scalp. “So, was Rick right?”

“Shit yea,” Daryl replied. “Need to give that man a gold star or somethin’.” Laughing, I just shook my head and we finished our shower. When we got out, we dried ourselves off and I quickly combed my head of hair. Walking back into the bedroom, I was unsurprised to see that Rick was already completely passed out. A good fucking could always make that man doze off and watching him sleep made me tired as well.

Walking around the bed, Daryl started to pick up his clothes. “Where you going?” I asked him.

“Uh…back to my room, I guess.” The idea of Daryl going back to his room after such a nice night made me miss him already and he hadn’t even walked out the door.

“Well…will you stay? For a bit? You don’t have to stay the whole night, if you don’t want to. But just for awhile?” I tried to keep the begging from my voice, but I’m sure I sounded pitiful.

“Rick won’t mind? We hadn’t really talked ‘bout that,” he said cautiously. I think he was worried about stepping on Rick’s toes by sleeping in our bed, but I didn’t think Rick could care one way or the other.

“No, he sleeps like a log. And I mean, it’s a king size bed. There’s plenty of room…” I trailed off and gave him the best set of puppy dog eyes I could manage.

He sighed but smiled at me. “Okay…” My frown quickly turned to a smile and I climbed into the bed and scooted towards the center. Daryl climbed in after me and I turned to face Rick while Daryl wrapped an arm around my small torso, bringing me tight into him. Being tucked into bed between two of my favorite men had me feeling about twenty different emotions but peacefulness was definitely the biggest one. I fell asleep with a smile on my face and love in my heart.


	17. Chapter 17

My alarm went off at five the next morning and I groaned as I turned over to hit the off button. But I was a little further over in the bed than I normally was and my arm was about a foot too short to hit the alarm clock. Instead it draped over the warm body that laid next to me, well one of them anyways. When I opened my eyes, I saw that Daryl had in fact slept the whole night in our bed and I was still centered between two beautiful men.

Daryl groaned as the alarm kept going and he finally reached a hand up and hit the button on top of it. Turning back over, he wrapped his arm around my waist and tried to settle back into sleep. I just chuckled at him because it was time for me to get up since I had to open the diner this morning. Slowly peeling his arm up, I almost had it off me when he finally noticed and said, “Uh-uh,” promptly wrapping the same one back around my body.

“Hey, I gotta get ready for work, mister.”

“Nah, no work. Stayin’ in bed all day.” He spoke like his words weren’t ridiculous and settled back into his pillow. I rolled my eyes at him and felt some movement from my other side. Then there was another arm thrown over me, but instead of wrapping all the way around my body, it landed on Daryl’s side. The hand attached to that arm moved up and down for a second, like the owner was confused, then I felt movement behind my head as Rick lifted up to look around.

“Baby, I don’t know if you know this, but there’s a naked man in our bed…” Rick croaked out in his sleepy voice.

“Well, actually there’re two naked men in this bed and I think I like it that way. But it’s time for me to get up,” and I stretched my arms out and sat up, effectively pulling both pairs of arms off my body. Rick grunted and turned back over, he was use to going back to sleep when I got up for my early shifts. Climbing over Daryl, I stood from the bed and grabbed my long sweater so I could go downstairs and start the coffee.

Daryl watched me for a minute before he started to get out of the bed too. “Aw, you don’t have to get up. It’s still really early,” I said to my shaggy-haired hunter.

“What? You want me to lay naked in bed with your man?” Daryl asked with raised eyebrows and I couldn’t help but giggle at him.

“Hmmm…maybe I do,” and I winked at him. “Don’t worry, Rick won’t cuddle you too much.” He rolled his eyes and gave me the finger. Pulling his pants on, he walked with me downstairs. While I waited for the pot of coffee to brew, he opened the back door and walked outside with Leah. The sun was just starting to peak across the sky and I could tell it was going to be a pretty day.

Once the coffee was ready, I fixed two mugs and walked out the backdoor. Daryl was leaning against the back porch watching Leah run around, occasionally throwing a stick for her. When I stepped outside, he turned and thanked me as I handed him his cup. I watched Leah for a minute, but I could feel Daryl’s eyes on me. “What’re you looking at?” I finally asked him, halfway exasperated.

He just smirked and sipped his mug, slowly shaking his head. “Nothin’. Jus’ haven’t felt this way in a long time…”

“Felt what way?” I squinted my eyes at him, wondering what he was thinking.

He shrugged his shoulders and sighed a little. “Don’t know. Happy? Safe? Not sure if I’ve really ever felt those things.” I felt a little sad to hear that but also a little relieved because he felt those things here and now. I felt the same way, probably even more so, and even though I hadn’t known Daryl Dixon that long, I felt like he belonged in my life and I hope he felt that way too. Sitting my coffee cup down, I got close to him and wrapped my arms around his lean torso. Tucking my head into his chest, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and rested his chin on my head.

We stayed that way for a few minutes and slowly swayed back and forth. When we broke apart, I knew I needed to get a move on so I grabbed my coffee cup and headed for the back door. Walking inside, I stopped in the doorway and turned to look back at him. “I…I’m happy too, you know. Don’t even think about going anywhere because…I don’t think I could take it.”

“Ain’t plannin’ on it,” he replied and gave me one of his signature smirks. I smiled back and headed inside, going back upstairs to get ready for work. Once I was all dressed, I gave Rick a quick kiss goodbye and he mustered a small grunt of goodbye from underneath the covers. Grabbing my purse from downstairs, I looked around for Daryl but didn’t see him in the house.

Stepping out the front door, I found him sitting on the porch swing, sipping another cup of coffee while he read the paper and petted Leah’s head. “Hey you. Well, I’m heading out, but I’ll be back soon. Sunday’s are always short shifts. Whatcha gonna do today?”

Daryl shrugged his shoulders while I briefly sat down next to him and leaned my head on his shoulder. “Don’t know. Maybe get some housework done.”

“Well, make Rick help you and you tell him I said so. You don’t gotta do it all on your own. You need to enjoy a day off like anybody else.”

“I am…right now.” His words practically had my heart melting and I brought my head up so we could share a brief kiss. His lips gingerly touched mine and for once his kiss didn’t feel needy and rushed like it had before. This time it felt gentle and reassuring, like he was telling me he was going to take his time because he knew he wasn’t going anywhere. I pressed my forehead against his and sighed as we sat for a moment longer.

Finally, I pulled myself from the swing and headed to work. Thankfully, my shift went by quick and I managed to pocket a good amount of tips. Also, Lee was off today so I didn’t have to worry about anyone breathing down my neck. Once the lunch rush died down, I headed home and pulled into the driveway just before one. Walking into the house, I sat my bag down and headed for the kitchen.

I found Rick emptying the dishwasher and I looked around at my relatively clean house. When I pulled up, I noticed the lawn had been mowed as well and the yard looked impeccable. “Well, hey there Mr. Clean,” I teased my boyfriend as I grabbed a glass and filled it with water.

“Hey, baby. How’s was your shift?”

“Fine. Made about thirty. Not too bad.” Shrugging my shoulders, I opened the pantry and grabbed a granola bar since I hadn’t eaten much of anything today. “What you been up to? Where’s Daryl?”

Rick put the last glass in the cupboard and closed up the dishwasher. Wiping his hands off on the dish towel, he leaned forward and grabbed a bite of my granola bar, chewing for a minute and swallowing before he answered. “He went to take a nap,” and Rick nodded towards the garage. “I think getting up with you and then working on the yard wore him out. He took care of the outside while I worked on the inside,” and he gestured around the house.

“I told him to go back to sleep. He’s about as stubborn as you,” and smacked Rick’s butt as he bent over to bag up the garbage.

He scoffed at me and tied the top of the bag closed. “Well, I think the problem was that he felt a little awkward about sleeping in the bed with another man…naked,” Rick said with a small smirk.

“Was that okay? Him sleeping with us? He was getting ready to go back to his room last night, but I just didn’t want him to leave. You were already passed out, so I just made a quick judgment call. If it’s not, I promise it won’t happen again.” I bit my lip to stop myself from rambling because it seemed like the words were never going to stop falling from my mouth.

Rick’s face softened and he brought me in for a hug. “Yea baby. It was fine. That bed is plenty big…but let’s not make it an every night kind of thing. I’m sure Daryl still wants his own space, ya know?” I nodded against Rick’s chest because I knew what he was saying, to take things slow and not rush into anything too serious. The last thing I wanted to do was scare Daryl off by coming on too strong like I was wont to do.

“You’re right. I’ll try to keep the naked men in the bed to a minimum,” I teased. His chest vibrated with laughter and I chuckled too. “So what’s the plan for tonight, baby?”

Rick pulled away and grabbed the full trash bag, heading for the back door. I followed him outside and noticed that Leah wasn’t at our feet. She must be sleeping with Daryl which I found amusing. I stood on the porch as Rick took the garbage to the bin, talking to me over his shoulder. “Well, there was an invitation from Jerry to go watch the game at his place.”

“Yea? That might be fun…” I mumbled as I thought about how we couldn’t really bring Daryl along to that. Rick’s station buddies were pretty particular about who you brought to their house and they pestered new people like crazy. I thought back to when I first got with Rick and it was like I was being interrogated every time we went out with them for the first few months. Rick finally had to get on them to lay off me because it really did make you uncomfortable after awhile.

“Actually...I was thinking I might go on my own. Give you and Daryl some time together…without me.” Rick walked up onto the back porch and stood by me, rubbing his hand on my lower back.

“Really? You’re okay with that? I thought we were trying to do this together?” Nerves ate at my stomach because I hadn’t expected Rick to be that comfortable already.

“Well the man did sleep in our bed last night,” and he gave me a quick wink. “But yea, I figure y’all don’t need me around all the time. This is as much about you and him as it is you and me and then all three of us together…if that made any sense,” and he scrunched his nose up into a confused face.

I chuckled at him but nodded because it did make sense. “Yea, I see what you’re saying. So…if we happen to…”

“Fuck?” Rick filled in the end of the sentence for me and smiled.

“Yea, that. If that happens, is that okay? You wouldn’t be there…” I knew that we had agreed on all three of us having sex together, and of course me and Rick were still going to have sex on our own, but it hadn’t really been established if me and Daryl could do the same.

Rick scooted closer to me and wrapped his arms low around my back, clasping his hands together and leaning back so he could look down in my face. I laid my hands on his chest and looked up into his, trying to read his eyes. “I know we hadn’t talked about this yet, but if you want a relationship with both of us, then I think it’d be pretty unreasonable of me to expect you to only have sex with him when I’m in the room. Now we’re still working the kinks out, and while I love to watch you with him, I don’t think I need to be there every time.”

Rick’s understanding nature kept blowing me away time after time. Bringing my hands to the sides of his face, I absentmindedly rubbed my thumbs against his cheeks and looked into his deep, soulful eyes. Sometimes I couldn’t help but think I didn’t deserve this wonderful man. “Well…only if you’re sure. You’re not feeling…I don’t know. Jealous?”

Rick stuck his lower lip out while he looked off and thought for a minute. Finally, he said, “I haven’t felt anything serious yet. I think you’ll know it when I do, maybe even before. Sometimes you know me better than I do.” Well, he was right about that and it was true vice versa as well.

“Okay. What time are you leaving?”

“Ready to get rid of me that fast?” Rick teased and I broke into a fit of giggles. “I figure I’ll leave in about an hour.”

“Alright. How long has Daryl been asleep?” I thought about what we could do tonight. It would be like our first “date” and I was a little excited.

“Not too long. Maybe half an hour. C’mon,” and Rick pulled me inside where we cuddled on the couch for the next hour. I read a book while he watched TV and ran fingers through my knotted hair. Once the hour had gone by, Rick gave me a kiss before he headed out the door to go watch the game with his friends from the station.

I tidied up the few spots that Rick had missed and started a load of laundry. He hadn’t bothered to touch the laundry basket, an agreement we had made when I first moved in. The one time he tried to be considerate and do a load of whites, he had missed a red shirt of mine and ended up turning everything pink. So I became the designated laundry lady and I was just fine with that, if only to preserve what little wardrobe I had left.

After I had the washer going, I stepped outside and made my way to the garage. Climbing the steps to Daryl’s room, I stopped at the top and looked around. He was still asleep, laying on top of the covers with Leah curled into his side. When she saw me, her tail started to wag a little, but she stayed in place. His desk had a few news pages scattered across it, along with a notepad and a pencil. His dresser had a couple drawers left open with some clothes stuffed inside.

Walking up to his bed, I scooted Leah down towards his feet and laid down next to him, sitting up on my elbow so I could look down at him. The movement of the bed woke him up and he blinked his eyes while he stretched and yawned. “Hey, sleepy head.”

He turned towards me and smiled. “Hey,” he said with a scratchy voice.

“The yard looks really good.” I sighed inwardly because I couldn’t think of anything else to say and that just came out and it sounded kind of lame to me.

“Yea? Good,” he replied and turned on his side to face me. Wrapping an arm around my small frame, he dragged me in closer to him and brought our lips together. Blushing, I smiled against his warm mouth. When we broke apart, he asked, “Where’s Rick?”

“Oh, he went to go watch the game with his buds from the station. He said he wanted us to have some time together.”

“Oh, okay. So what we doin’?” he asked, his eyebrows raised slightly and his face took on something akin to excitement. His eagerness made me smile and I just shrugged my shoulders because I had no clue what to do. I didn’t really care as long as I got to be with him. "C'mon. You’re a girl, you’re always s’pose to know that stuff.”

“Hey! I don’t have all the answers,” I replied indignantly. “I can’t be the one to make all the moves here. Some girls like it when the guy makes the decisions.”

“You one of them girls?” He quirked an eyebrow up at me questioningly.

“Sometimes…”

“Hmmm…” Daryl mumbled, looking at me while he thought. “Alright. Go put on jeans and grab a jacket.”

“What? Why?” I asked curiously.

“We goin’ for a ride,” he said like he was stating on the obvious.

“Yea? Okay!” I hopped out of bed and he gave my butt a light smack. Heading down the steps, I ran into the house and up to my own room. I quickly changed and threw my hair into a loose side braid. Checking the mirror, once I was satisfied with how I looked, I pulled on a pair of boots and went back to the garage.

Daryl was already waiting by the bike, helmet in hand. He handed me the second helmet and we both pulled them on. He got on the bike and waited for me to swing my leg over and get comfy behind him. The bike roared to life and this time I didn’t second guess where to put my hands. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I squeezed him tight as we peeled out of the driveway. The day was sunny with only a few clouds in the sky and it felt exhilarating to sit behind Daryl as we wove our way through the back country roads.

We kept going until we were clear into the next county. After an hour or so, we stopped at a roadside BBQ stand to grab something to eat. Sitting at a nearby picnic table, we filled our bellies with delicious food, chatting occasionally. I caught Daryl watching me a few times and it was making me self-conscious to eat in front of the man. “What is it? Do I have something on my face? Can’t a girl eat in peace?” I asked him.

He chuckled and shook his head. “Nah, it’s nothin’…” he said, shrugging his shoulders. But as I took my last bite, I caught him again and gave him a look with raised eyebrows and wide eyes.

“You’re staring again.”

“Sorry…it’s just…it all still feels a little unreal, ya know? Findin’ you and Rick, y’all bein’ so nice. Rick…willin’ to share you. You wantin’ to be with me at all.” He blushed a little and looked down at the table in slight embarrassment. I felt my heart soften and I reached over and squeezed his hand.

“Why is me wanting to be with you seem so unreal?”

“’Cause you’re you and I’m me. Ain’t really the kinda guy who attracts nice girls like you… Not in the past noways.”

“What kind of girls were you with before?” We hadn’t talked about his past that much and I was curious. While Daryl did seem rough around the edges, I knew that he was a good person and I couldn’t believe that he hadn’t been with a nice girl at least once.

“Aw hell. All different kinds. Mostly the nasty chicks Merle would bring back home. Nobody serious. Jus’ a warm body for the night, ya know?” He shrugged his shoulders as he looked up at my eyes to see if I was judging him. Maintaining a neutral face, I only gave him a brief nod.

“What’s the longest you’ve ever been with somebody?” Daryl already knew that about me, Jimmy and Rick, and I wondered what his answer would be.

“Oh lord,” he sighed and rolled his eyes. “I don’t know…three months, maybe. If ya can say callin’ someone up for sex couple times a week bein' with someone.”

“I guess you can,” and I took a sip of my sweet tea. “Why do you think you’ve never been serious with anyone?”

He thought for a minute as he lit up a smoke and took a few tentative puffs from it. “Can’t say for sure. For a long time, everyone'd look at me and just see my brother. Girls would get with me jus’ to get close to him or they’d be with me because he told ‘em to. Ain’t the best way to start a relationship, I s’pose.”

“Parents never bugged you to bring a good girl home?” I realized that Daryl never spoke about his parents so I was interested to hear about them. It seemed like his brother was the only family he talked about. His eyes went a little dark at the mention of them, and I wondered if I should have held my tongue instead.

“Nah…my mama died when I was young. Dad was around off and on. Me and Merle jus’ fended for ourselves usually. Much as I hate my brother sometimes…he’s still my brother. Wouldn’t of made it without him.” He took a long drag off his cigarette and sighed loudly, blowing a long puff of smoke out.

“How’d your mama die?”

“Smokin’ in bed…burned the whole damn trailer to the ground…” he said staring at his own lit cigarette. “How’d yours?”

“Oh, from cancer. When I was pretty young. Don’t remember a whole lot about her, but I remember Daddy and how hard it was on him. He couldn’t show it though because he had me and Maggie to take care of. But we knew…” This time I felt Daryl’s hand squeeze mine and I was the one to look up at his reassuring eyes. “So…now that we’ve got the dead mother and old girlfriend talk out of the way…”

Daryl smirked at my uncomfortable segue. “So what’s with your dad? At dinner the other night, why was he on you ‘bout workin’ at the diner?”

Sighing deeply, now I was the one to roll my eyes. This was not the direction I thought this conversation would go in. “’Cause he’s my dad and…I don’t know, he wants more for me than working as a waitress.”

“Why didn’t you go to college?”

“That’s what everyone wanted. But I just had no clue what I wanted to do. I didn’t see a point in going to college, spending all that money, when I had no idea what direction I wanted my life to go in. I guess I’m still figuring it out.”

“That’s normal when you’re 22. Think everybody expects kids nowadays to just know right off the bat, and they end up regrettin’ it later. Gotta let people take their time. Bein’ pushy don’t help no one.”  

“Well, I’m glad you and Rick understand that. Unfortunately, my father is a different story and he’s the most stubborn man I know.”

“Nah…he’s just worried ‘bout his little girl,” and Daryl reached his hand up to pinch my cheek teasingly. I brushed his hand away and stuck my tongue out at him which made him smile. Standing up, I grabbed our trash and threw it away. Walking back to the table, he had stood up as well and I wrapped myself up in his arms.

Looking up, our lips connected and I could taste the tobacco from his cigarette as well as the sweetness from the barbecue. It made for an interesting combination and I hummed against his mouth as we embraced. As our tongues connected, I could feel a heat start to build inside of me and judging from the fullness I felt rubbing against my hip, I could tell he was starting to get worked up too. We broke apart a little breathlessly and his eyes shone with a dark, lusty expression. I smirked at him and asked, “Ready to head back?” and I felt sure my own eyes bore the same desire that he felt.

“Hell yea…” he growled, squeezing my ass as we walked to the bike and headed back to the house.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone kept asking for some Beth/Daryl alone time, so I decided to add another chapter today just because everyone's been waiting. Hope you like it! :-D

Pulling back into the driveway, Daryl parked the bike in the garage and we climbed off. After we sat our helmets down, he grabbed my hand and pulled me to the steps. I gave him a knowing smile and we headed up to his room. Bringing me to the bed, we sat down and he wrapped a hand behind my neck and slowly pulled me towards him.

His lips touched mine gently and I practically melted against his touch. He leaned forward and wrapped an arm underneath my knees and pulled me onto his lap. Smiling, I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my hands into his shaggy dark hair. While our lips locked into a deep embrace, he ran his hands up and down my back, slipping one underneath my shirt and brushing his fingers along my bare skin. I held back a small shiver that wanted to work its way up my spine.

Suddenly he pulled back from the kiss and bit his lip as he looked into my eyes. “What is it?” I asked him curiously.

“Wanna show you somethin’…” and he lifted me off his lap and sat me back on the bed. He stood up and grabbed the notepad from his desk and came back to sit down next to me. Flipping to the front, he handed it to me and I gave him a questioning look as I took the notepad into my hands. On the first page was a rough sketch of a tree and some flowers. I flipped through the pages and saw familiar things from around the house: the fence line, the porch swing, even Leah. Then I turned the page and saw a drawing of me.

My hair was up in a ponytail and my face was turned to the side with my eyes downcast. Flipping the page again, I saw one of Rick as well. He was smiling slightly and his curls were a mess on his head, how he usually looked in the mornings. The next page had us both together, sitting on the couch with me leaning against him, my head on his shoulder. I was blown away at how amazing these were and I finally looked up at Daryl with my mouth hanging open. “Did you do these?” He only answered with a small nod.

“When?” I asked with a bewildered expression.

“The past week…” he mumbled back and looked away shyly.

“These are really good…why didn’t you tell me you could draw?” He shrugged his shoulders at me and didn’t bother to answer. I flipped through more pages and saw more of me and Rick, whether it was us separate or together or just our hands clasped. Then I came upon one of me from behind but it was just my silhouette and I appeared to be naked with my hair trailing down my back. I held it up to Daryl and raised my eyebrows at him with a smile.

He laughed and started to blush and I gave him a teasing push. Once I got to the last page, I realized that they were all of me and Rick and our life here but none of him. “Why aren’t there any of you?” I asked him gently.

He shook his head and scratched at his chin absentmindedly. “Nah…can’t draw myself. Never really could.”

“Have you tried?”

“Yea…once or twice. Guess I don’t like lookin’ at myself that hard…” He shrugged again and looked away. I stood up and sat the notepad back on the desk. Walking back over to the bed, I stood in front of him and ran my hands through his hair, bringing his gaze back to mine. Lowering my face to his, I gave him a deep kiss, one that I hoped conveyed the gratitude that I felt for him showing me that piece of himself because I felt sure that he didn’t show anyone that side of him. “Thank you,” I whispered once we broke apart.

With him still blushing slightly, I brought my hands to the hem of my shirt and pulled it off over my head. Stepping out of my boots, I unbuttoned my jeans and pulled them down while Daryl watched intently. Reaching my arms behind my back, I unsnapped my bra and slid it off. Lastly, I pushed my underwear past my hips and down my legs, kicking them to the side. I slowly undid my side braid and fanned my hair out around my shoulders, all the while watching Daryl as he watched me.

The more skin I showed, the more serious his face got and his eyes darkened with desire. When I was completely bare to him, he sighed deeply and grabbed both my hands, pulling me towards him. Starting at my neck, he ran his hands over every inch of my body and when he was done, he leaned his head against my stomach and hugged me close to him. “So fucking beautiful,” he whispered and I couldn’t help but smile as I leaned down to place a kiss on top of his head.

Reaching down, I grabbed at the back of his shirt while he lifted his arms and I pulled it off of him. Pushing him back on the bed, I made quick work of undoing his jeans and pulling them off his legs. I could already see that he was half hard and I tossed his jeans onto the floor before climbing onto the bed with him. When I lied down next to him, he wrapped me up in his arms and I draped one of my legs over his hip. We started to kiss each other tenderly, taking our time as our hands explored each other.

I loved the way his skin tasted and how he shivered as my teeth lightly nibbled at the tender parts of his neck. He couldn’t get enough of my small but perky breasts and he continued to kiss and caress them as he began to rub his now fully-erect cock against my hip in desperate need of friction. I moved his hand down between my legs and brought my own hand to his sizable length and started to stroke him as he spread me open and found my sensitive clit.

Our lips found each other once more as we started to pleasure one another and soon I was rocking my hips against his hand in my eagerness for more contact. He pulled his head back and smirked at me. Sitting up, he got up off the bed and walked to his desk, opening one of the drawers and pulling out a fresh box of condoms. Pulling one out, he opened it and rolled it onto his stiff length and came back to the bed.

He sat on his knees between my legs and brought his fingers to my sensitive bud one more time. He ran a quick circle and then dipped a finger into my wetness, making my toes curl and a slow moan slip past my mouth. Pulling the finger back out, he sucked it into his mouth and licked it clean, a sight so sexy I had to grip the pillow behind my head to keep from yanking him down and smashing our mouths together. He smiled at my obvious restraint and lowered himself on top of me, lining himself up to my entrance.

While we kissed, he teased me by rubbing the head of his cock around and only barely pushing into me. Frustrated, I bit his lip and brought my hands to his ass, pulling his hips into me which caused him to gasp as his cock plunged into me. “Damn, sexy…” he moaned as he pushed his hips further into me until he was fully seated inside my warmth.

“What can I say? Tease at your own risk,” I said breathlessly and groaned as he pulled out and thrust all the way back in. I ran my nails up his back and buried my face into his neck as he started to rock his hips back and forth. He held me tight as he set a steady pace and soon our hearts were beating at the same wild rate as we gasped for breath.

Feeling Daryl’s head lift a little, I pulled my own from his neck and our eyes met as he made love to me. “Did I ever…tell you…” he whispered between shaky, ragged breaths, “how much …you mean to me…” His face looked so intense, so full of emotion, as he ran a hand through my hair and gently kissed me. I shook my head at him as I lifted my hips in time with each thrust, meeting his steady pace.

“No, baby…tell me,” I said, holding one hand against his cheek while the other held tight to his shoulder.

“Both…you and Rick,” he moaned, never breaking eye contact. “I’d do…anything…for you two…anything…”

“I know, baby…us too…us too…oh, fuck…Daryl!” I cried out as I felt my orgasm break over me. It came so unexpected but the emotional moment and the sweet words that Daryl had whispered pushed me over the edge. I pressed my forehead against his and squeezed my eyes shut as every muscle in my body tensed up while pleasure radiated from the center of my body to each limb.

“No…open your eyes…look at me,” I heard Daryl say and I did as I was told. My eyes met his while the last of my orgasm pulsed through me and small whimpers escaped my lips. A second later, the lines in Daryl’s face creased and he grunted heavily as he came. “Fuck…oh god, Beth…” he said through gritted teeth. He held me tight as he pumped the last of his orgasm into me but he managed to keep his eyes open the entire time.

As he slowed his movements, he brought a hand to my face and used his thumb to wipe away what seemed to be a few tears that had sprung from my eyes during the last throws of our lovemaking. I thought he would just wipe them away but instead he brought his thumb to his mouth and licked the salty tears away which made me smile. He smiled back at me and smoothed my hair down as he brought  a soft kiss to my mouth.

Once our heartrates had returned to normal, he gently slid off of me and quickly disposed of the condom. Coming back to bed, he laid on his back while I rested my head on his chest and listened to his steady breathing. He ran a soothing hand up and down my back and I felt my eyes get heavy. After a few minutes, I drifted off to sleep.

I woke awhile later to the sound of a car door slamming shut. Then I heard footsteps heading up the steps to Daryl’s room and a second later I saw Rick’s head pop up from the stairway. He saw me watching him as climbed the final step and smiled. “Hey baby. Thought I’d find you up here.”

“Hey. How was the game?” I said quietly. Looking up, Daryl still seemed to be asleep.

Rick walked towards the bed, leaning down he gave me a brief kiss. “It was terrible. That quarterback is useless.”

“What’d you expect? That coach can’t teach the kid nothin’. Fresh outta college ball and he walks ‘round like he knows it all…” I heard the gruff words come from the man next to me and looked up again to find Daryl’s eyes opened. I guess he was awake after all.

“Aw hell. Don’t get me started. The guys already had plenty to say about it,” and Rick waved Daryl off. I rolled my eyes at both men because sports were something that was totally beyond me and they knew it. “So what’d y’all do today? Besides the obvious,” and his amused eyes scanned the bed that was currently occupied by our naked bodies.

“Went out on the bike. It was a real pretty day,” I told my boyfriend.

“Good. Sounds like fun,” Rick nodded. “Well, I’m gonna head inside baby. Be in a bit?”

“Yea, I’ll be there in a few minutes. Love you.”

“Love you too.” Rick leaned down and gave me another kiss before he nodded to Daryl and headed back down the stairs. I looked over to Daryl and he broke into a fit of laughter.

I laughed at him because I had no idea what he was laughing about. “What? What’s so funny?”

“Nothin’,” he shrugged. “It’s jus’…weird.”

“What’s weird?”

“I guess how not weird all this is,” and he gestured all around us. “Rick can come up here and see me layin’ here, naked with you, and it ain’t no big thing.”

“So it’s weird that it’s not weird?” I asked with eyebrows furrowed. He nodded at me and I just laughed because I could see what he meant. I was laying with Daryl after having a great round of sex and Rick waltzed in and gave me a kiss like he barely even noticed. But the thing was that it felt completely natural. After we were both laughed out, I gave him a quick kiss and climbed out of bed. Pulling on my clothes, I looked his way and saw him watching me get dressed. “I had a really good afternoon with you.”

“Me too,” he replied. I walked over to his desk and looked back down at the notepad, flipping through to a few of the ones that I liked the most.

“Can I have a few of these?” I asked him.

“I guess. They ain’t that great,” and he shrugged his bare shoulders from the bed.

“Are you kidding? These are amazing…I love them…” I said quietly. I ripped two pages from the notebook to take back to the house; one of Leah and one of me and Rick together. Walking back to the bed, I sat on the edge next to him and ran a finger up his side, giggling when he flinched from the light tickling. “You know…I meant what I said. Me and Rick…we’d do anything for you.”

Daryl’s eyes softened and he brought his hand to my cheek, stroking his thumb slowly back and forth. “And I meant what I said…” he replied quietly. He leaned up on his elbow and I leaned down so we could have a goodbye kiss. Once we broke apart, I walked to the steps and gave him one last look before heading down and out of the garage.

Walking into the house, I headed straight up to our bedroom and found Rick sitting on our bed, already under the covers. He had a book out and was reading by lamplight. I came around to his side of the bed and sat the pages on his lap as I started to undress. Sitting his book down, he picked up the pieces of paper and held one in each hand. “What’s this?”

After pulling the clothes off that I’d just put back on for the walk back to house, I dragged one of Rick’s old comfy t-shirts on and climbed into bed next to him. “Drawings. Daryl did them.”

Rick’s eyebrows shot up and he looked to me with one of his more surprised faces. “Really? Daryl can draw like this?”

“Apparently. He showed them to me today after we got back from riding on the bike. He was real shy about it, but I think he wanted to share it with us. He had a lot of them, but those were my favorite.” Scooting in close to Rick, I grabbed one of the pictures so he could wrap an arm around me and we cuddled in close.

Rick nodded and made an impressed face. “I can see why. He should draw one of all three of us and then we can put it on the fridge.” He smiled at me like he was teasing, but I could read through his tone and knew that he kind of actually wanted something like that; I knew because I did too.

“Well, he says he never draws himself. But maybe I can get him to change that. So…how’d you feel today? When you came home and saw the two of us together in his bed?” I had been curious since Rick had left to go back into the house.

Rick thought for a second before he spoke. “Mmm…fine, I guess,” he shrugged. “I told you I wanted you two to spend some time alone together. Why? How’d you feel?”

“It’s funny. When you left, Daryl laughed and said something about how weird it was because it was actually not weird. You know?” I looked up at him and he had a confused look on his face that made me laugh.

“No. What do you mean?” he asked with a grin.

“Like…it’s strange because none of this feels as weird or awkward as you’d think it would…” It looked like a light went on above Rick’s head and he nodded slowly.

“Ah…okay. Yea, I guess I could see that. The way I figure is that we’ll all three spend a lot of time together, but there’ll be times that you’ll spend with just me and then times when you’ll spend with just him.”

“Any chance that just y’all two will spend time together?” and I raised my eyebrows up at him, trying to hold back the big grin that threatened to spread across my face.

“What? You mean like sexy time?” Rick questioned and I couldn’t hold back the laughter that spilt from my throat because his tone had completely changed to one of shocked disbelief. “Oh, you’d like that, huh?” he teased. Pushing me over onto the bed, he brought his hands to my neck and tickled me relentlessly. “Want me kissing on Daryl, baby?” he chuckled.

“Maybe!” was all I managed to get out between laughter and ragged breaths. Once my face had turned bright pink, he finally ceased and held himself above me while I caught my breath. Rubbing my hands along his bare chest, I felt a bulge along my thigh and I looked down to see Rick had gotten a little excited during our bit of roughhousing. “Hmm…maybe I’m not the only one who’d like that,” I said to him with a wink.

Rick rolled his eyes and brought his mouth down to mine. Before he kissed me, he muttered, “Yea, yea, yea…” I chuckled and we embraced for a minute before he yanked my panties off and pulled his underwear down. Rick was already a little worked up so he came before me but he made sure to finish me off with his mind blowing tongue work. Afterwards, I was exhausted from the two bouts of lovemaking and two soul-shaking orgasms so I curled onto my side and fell into the most deliciously wonderful sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

The next few days went by in a daze. I had Monday and Tuesday off so I spent the time doing a few odds and ends around the house, waiting for Rick and Daryl to come home. During his lunch break on Monday, Daryl went to the free clinic and got tested, but we’d have to wait a few days for the results to be mailed to the house. We were fine to wait though and made sure to put those condoms to good use.

I hadn’t had sex this much since me and Rick had first got together and by Tuesday night, I was a little worn out in more ways than one. I think both men could tell because they agreed to give me a break for a day or two. When I went back to work on Wednesday, I couldn’t hide the smile that played on my lips as I thought about how last night I had laid on the bed while Daryl fucked me and Rick stood on the side while I sucked him off.

“What’re you so smiley about?” Darlene asked me with a suspicious look.

“Oh…nothing,” I mumbled to her and looked away as a blush crept up my neck.

“Don’t nothin’ me, missy. You been glowing all day. What’s going on?”

I bit my lip and looked around the diner nervously. We only had one table with a sweet old couple sharing a piece of apple pie. Looking to Darlene, I thought for a second about if I should tell her or not. Darlene was as good a friend as I ever had and she didn’t seem like too much of a blabbermouth. But more than that, I was dying to tell someone about me, Rick, and Daryl. I was too happy to keep everything all bottled up inside.

“Alright, Darlene. You gotta promise not to say anything to ANYONE,” and I widened my eyes at her as my hand shook a finger in the air. “I’m serious.”

Darlene’s eyes got wide too and she smiled because she could tell she was about to get some juicy information. “Oh, I won’t. I swear honey. You know I’m good for it. Scout’s honor,” and she zipped a hand across her mouth to show that she’d keep my secret.

“Okay,” and my voice got real quiet so no one around us would hear, even though the diner was pretty much empty. Darlene leaned in real close as I whispered, “Me and Rick talked and I told him I’d been having some…feelings. Feelings for Daryl.” As soon as I said Daryl’s name her eyes about popped out her head, but she held her tongue so I could finish. “So…we decided that we’d try something different by…letting Daryl into our bed.”

“OH, I KNEW IT!” she yelled with a bright red smile and a slam of her hand against the counter.

“Darlene! Hush!” I commanded and glanced around the diner. The old couple gave us a quick look but went back to their pie after a few seconds.

“You little devil!” she whispered in a stern voice, grabbing my shoulders and giving me a good shake. “How long has it been? Better yet, how’s the sex? Is Daryl's thing big?” You could always count on Darlene to ask the important questions.

“Uh…it’s only been a few days. The first night was after we all went out to the bar together. Sorry I didn’t tell you the next day, but it was still so new, I wasn’t sure what to think about it. And it’s amazing. And yes, he is.” Answering her questions in order, her eyes got bigger with each response until she looked like she could just about keel over when I finished.

“Oh, lord have mercy! I’m so jealous, I just know my red hair is turning green! And Rick’s okay with everything?” Now her eyes turned concerned as more questions kept popping up in her head.

I nodded before I thought of a way to answer. “Yea…he’s doing real good. It’s funny because I thought it would be so…awkward, I guess. But really, it feels normal. Even from the start, you know?” She nodded and held up a finger for me to wait as she ran over and gave the old couple their check. Once they paid, she dashed back over to me and kept nodding like she hadn’t even left the conversation for a second.

“That’s great though. It’s like it was meant to be. I thought I felt something at that table at the bar. Knew something was up,” she said with a sly smile. “So, y’all been doing it like rabbits?”

“Oh gosh, yea. We actually decided to give it a rest for a day or two. Don’t think I could take too much more!” We laughed like hyenas for a minute until we could settle back down.

“Tell me something. So, when y’all are together, it’s you and Rick and then you and Daryl?” I nodded at her, hoping that she didn’t want me to go into explicit detail because that wasn’t exactly something I wanted to do, at least not without downing half a bottle of wine first. “Okay. What about them two? You know, do they do anything…together…without you?” Her eye had a naughty twinkle to it and I fell into another fit of giggles once she finished her question. “Oh, c’mon now,” she nudged my ribs with her elbow. “I’m serious.”

Shaking my head, I waved a hand back and forth as my laughter faded. “No, no, no. Nothing like that. I don’t even know what I’d think if something like that happened. I mean…Rick’s not gay.”

“Well, I wouldn’t call getting off to watching another man get head exactly straight,” Darlene shrugged. “You ain’t never thought about it?” As I wrapped silverware, I tried to picture Rick and Daryl together in my head but I just couldn’t do it. I think the idea of it seemed so improbable that my mind just couldn’t put it together. When I looked back to Darlene, I just shook my head no. “Well, here.”

She walked behind the counter and bent down into our little hidey hole where we put our bags. When she stood back up, she had a book in her hand and walked it over to me. Handing it over, I took it and looked at the cover. It was called “In His Loving Arms” and the cover was set up like a typical romance cover except this one had two men on the front of it. Flipping to the back, I soon discovered that this was a gay romance novel and I looked back at Darlene.

“What is this?” I asked her, trying to hide some of the shock on my face. I’d never pegged my friend to be into something like this. But then again, I was now fucking two men and I’m sure I didn’t look like the typical girl to do something like that.

“What do you think it is? Don’t judge it, honey. Just read it and come tell me what you think after.” She gave me a quick wink and I just smirked at her. Looking at the clock, it was time for me to head home so I went and grabbed my bag and jacket. When I gave Darlene a goodbye hug, she squeezed me tight and whispered, “You tell those men I said they better take damn good care of you. You deserve the best honey.” Her words made me smile and I had to hold back the tears that threatened to spill from my eyes. Giving her a brief nod, I headed out the back door and drove the short distance home.

Pulling into the driveway, I was the first person home, so I ran upstairs to change and then went down to the kitchen to figure out what was for dinner. Glancing in the fridge, I decided on pork chops and grabbed the packaged meat. Just as I was rinsing them off, my cell phone rang and I cursed under my breath. Quickly washing and drying my hands, I ran to my purse and basically upended it so I could get to the call in time.

Once I finally found the phone, I hit the answer button and said, “Hello?”

“Yes, hi. Is this Beth Greene?”

“Uh..yes, this is.” The voice on the other end of the phone sounded very terse and professional, never a good sign.

“This is Nurse Richards. I work at Cedarville General. We have a patient here by the name of Hershel Greene who was brought in about twenty minutes ago by way of ambulance. He took a pretty bad fall and the doctors are working with him now.”

“Oh?” was all I could think to say. My mouth went dry and my pulse probably tripled as the words she spoke sunk in.

“You were listed as his closest next of kin,” I heard the voice on the other end say.

“Uh, yea…yes. I’m his daughter,” I managed to stammer out.

“He’ll be here in the ER for the next few hours while the doctors look him over and run tests.”

“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as possible.” I thanked the nurse on the other end and hung up. Standing still for a second, I thought of what to do next. Turning back to the counter, I tossed the pork chops into a bowl and threw them into the fridge. Throwing everything back into my purse, I yanked my shoes on and ran out to the Saturn. Shoving the key into the ignition, I cranked the engine which promptly died on me.

Trying again and again, the car refused to start, not even bothering to turn over. I screamed in frustration and slammed my hands against the steering wheel. My father was the in the hospital and I was stranded because of this stupid car. Whipping through my bag, I found my cell phone and brought up the number for Rick. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally answered. “Hey baby,” he said casually.

“Hey. Hospital called, Dad fell, car won’t start.” I couldn’t get the words out fast enough and I was sure it all came out a garbled mess.

“Wait. Slow down, baby. What happened?” Rick asked in his soothing voice, the one he used when he tried to calm me down.

It didn’t work this time though and I started to cry a little as I repeated everything. “The hospital called. Daddy fell at the house and he called an ambulance. He’s at the ER. And the fucking car won’t start!” I broke down at the end and started blubbering into the steering wheel.

“Shit. Alright, I’m on the other side of the damn county. It’ll take like half an hour to get home. It’ll be okay baby. Call Daryl at the garage and see if he can come get you. If he can, call me back and I’ll meet y’all at the hospital. Okay?”

“Okay,” I sniffled and we said our brief “I love you” before I hung up and called the garage. It only rang once before there was an answer.

“McClain’s Garage,” a cheery voice said on the other end. I knew that this was Betty McClain, Kyle McClain’s wife. She ran the office side of things while Kyle did the mechanic work.

“Hi, Betty. It’s Beth Greene. Is Daryl there?” I tried to soothe my voice before I spoke. The last thing I wanted to do was make Betty worry.

“Well, sure darlin’. Hang on just a second.”

A minute later, I heard the phone move and a voice came on the line that was now just as reassuring to me as Rick’s. “Hello?”

“Daryl, the hospital called and my dad fell at his house. He’s at the ER but this damn car won’t start so I’m stuck at the house. Rick’s on the other side of the county and it’ll be like half an hour ‘til he can get here. Can you come get me?”

“Hang on,” he said and I heard him sit the phone down. Nervously tapping my fingers on the steering wheel, I bit my lip as anxiety bubbled up inside of me. Finally a minute later he picked the receiver back on. “Be there in five,” he mumbled and then the line went dead. Getting out of the car, I paced the driveway for the next five minutes while I waited on one of my knights in shining armor to come rescue me.

I heard his bike before I saw it and he didn’t even bother to pull in the driveway as I ran up to meet him at the road. Handing me my helmet, I strapped it on and climbed onto the back. I had already called Rick and told him to meet us there, so once I told Daryl where to go, we zoomed off and pulled into the hospital fifteen minutes later.

Stopping in front of the entrance to the ER, I climbed off and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek as I handed him the helmet and ran inside while he found a spot to park. Walking up to the nurse’s station, I asked the first woman I saw, “I’m looking for my father. Hershel Greene.” She took pity on my worried state and helped me find where he was.

His bed was empty and she checked his chart to see that they had taken him up for tests. I sat in a chair next to the empty hospital bed and waited, peaking out of the curtain every few minutes. When I saw Daryl walk in, I waved him over and he came and sat down next to me. We held hands and I looked around every now and again to see if my father was coming. Rick walked in before my dad did though and I gave him a small smile as he walked up.

Kissing my cheek and patting Daryl on the shoulder, Rick grabbed an empty chair and sat it on the other side of me. We sat there for another twenty minutes, me holding Daryl’s hand with Rick rubbing soothing circles into my back, before they final rolled my father back to his bed. “Daddy!” I called out as the nurse rolled him up in a wheelchair.

My father looked weary and he winced a little in pain, yet he still held his hand up when the nurse tried to help him into bed. He could be such a stubborn man sometimes and if he weren’t hurt right now, I’d give him a good talking to. But I took pity on him and let him be. Standing up, I tried to help him myself but he brushed me away too and I just stood by his side with my hands on my hips. “What happened?” I asked him once he was finally situated in the bed.

“Oh, nothin’ serious sweetie. Just took a spill, s’all.” He tried to talk to me in his reassuring fatherly voice, but I wasn’t buying it for a second.

“A spill? A spill that needed an ambulance? How bad are you hurt?” I looked at my father and he only turned his head away. That man’s pride really knew how to grind my gears. Instead, I turned to the nurse hoping to get some answers.

“You’ll have to wait for the doctor. We just took him for x-rays. Once those are back, he’ll come speak with you.”

Looking to my father, I sighed. He looked so pitiful like this, in a hospital bed with the white gown draped around him. “Anything for the pain?” I asked, still talking to the nurse.

“He’s refused all pain medications,” she said solemnly.

“Daddy!” I said sharply, looking to my father.

“Oh hell, Bethy. Don’t get on me right now. I’ve had a day of it,” my father said waving me away.

I sighed again and gave the nurse a nod of thanks before she left to tend to her other patients. Sitting back down between Rick and Daryl, I eyed my father carefully. To my left, Daryl fidgeted with his hands and to my right, Rick tapped his fingers on the back of my chair. “Will you guys go get us some coffee?” I asked my two men.

They both nodded eagerly and stood up to go find somewhere that sold coffee. I sat silently for a minute and watched my father as he fiddled with a box of tissues that sat on the table next to him. “Oh hell. Get on with it then…” my father sighed.

“You didn’t have your leg on, did you?”

“I don’t need the damn thing all the time,” he replied.

“Obviously you do if this is happening,” I gestured to the hospital around us. “What happened? Where’d you fall?”

“In the bathroom. Gettin’ outta the damn shower. True sign I’m gettin’ old,” he said, looking at me with a soft smile and a twinkle in his eye.

“The white beard and wrinkles didn’t tip you off?” I countered and he actually laughed. Seeing my daddy smile always made me smile and I joined in on the laughter as well. Once we settled back down, my face returned to its serious demeanor. “Daddy, you gotta be more careful. You have to wear the leg. You’re balance just isn’t as good without it. Even with the crutch.” I tried to be gentle in my reproach, but his face took on an offended look anyways.

“No, I don’t gotta do anythin’. It’s my house, Beth. I’ll do what I damn well please.”

“And when it happens again? Because it will. You’ll fall getting up to go to the bathroom at night or in the shower again or off the damn porch steps. Who knows daddy? It could happen at any time and next time it could be a hell of a lot worse. We don’t even know how bad it is now!”

“Beth, I won’t be talked to like a child. Now I’ll use my crutch more, but that’s it. I hate that damn fake leg. Jus’ reminds me of the one that I lost. And I’ll wear it only when I have to. That’s the end of it, young lady.” The expression on his face told me that he was done with this conversation and the only thing I could do was sigh and throw my hands up in defeat.

“Fine,” I mumbled.

We sat in silence for a few minutes before the boredom got to us. “Why’s Daryl here?” he asked.

“Oh…uh…my car wouldn’t start and Rick was clear across the county. And I was worried, so I called Daryl at the garage and he came and picked me up.” I tried to maintain a neutral face as I spoke, hoping that my feelings for the hunter didn’t show through.

“Well, Rick is here now. It’s nice of him to stay, but I hope he doesn’t feel like he has to just because I got him that job.”

“He stayed as support for me, Daddy. Daryl’s become a real good friend now, to me and Rick. He ain’t going no where.” My father shrugged his shoulders at me and only a few seconds later I heard my two men walk up behind me. They gave us our coffee and then took their seats. We sat and waited in silence for another half hour before the doctor finally showed.

“Alright…Hershel,” the doctor said, looking at my father’s chart as he walked in. “So, good news first. Nothing’s broken.” I sighed in relief once he said that and I felt both Rick and Daryl’s hands rub comfort onto my shoulders. “Bad news, looks like a pretty bad bone bruise. You’re definitely going to be in some pain. It’ll take at least a week to heal. No need to stay overnight here, but I do want you staying with someone for at least a few days.”

Daddy nodded and smiled, I assumed because he was pleased to not have to stay in the hospital overnight. I asked the doctor a few questions, but everything seemed pretty clear cut. Once he walked away to tend to other patients, I looked at the men that sat on either side of me and decided we needed to talk about some things really quick. “We’ll be right back, Daddy,” and I nodded my head to both men so they would follow me out.

Once we were a safe distance away, we stood close together and spoke in quiet whispers. “Alright. So…what are we going to do?” I asked them both.

“I don’t know, baby,” and Rick shrugged his shoulders. “Let him stay on the couch?”

“God, I hate to do that though,” I grimaced. Making my poor father sleep on the couch while we all had beds to sleep in made me feel terrible.

“Well, I’d offer him my room, but he couldn’t make it up them steps,” Daryl said thoughtfully. I squeezed his hand reassuringly because the thought was nice, but he was right. Those steps were a death trap for my father.

“I guess…I could go stay at his place and watch him.”

“What about work?” Rick asked. Biting my lip, I shrugged my shoulders. Rick was right about that. Lee might let me have one day off, but two was cutting it close. I was already on thin ice with that man anyways. “How ‘bout he stays with us. You watch him tomorrow. Daryl can stay with him Friday since he already has that day off.” Daryl nodded in agreement and I bit my lip as I thought of how it would work.

“Maybe…But Daddy’ll raise hell if he has to stay away from his house that long. Oh! What if I call Maggie and she watches him this weekend? He’ll be okay to be on his own by Monday, right?”

“Don’t see why not. The only thing that’s stoppin’ him now is us,” Daryl said. I nodded at him and pulled my cell phone out to call my sister. Once she answered, I filled her in on everything and she quickly agreed to come stay with him this weekend. After everything was settled, we walked back to my dad’s bed to sell him the same idea.

“Well…fine. But you gotta go get Sampson. Can’t be leavin’ my dog alone.” I laughed in relief because I honestly thought he was going to fight us harder than that. About an hour later, the doctor finally gave him the all clear and we stepped out so he could get changed. When he was decent, my dad gave me his keys and got into the car with Rick to head back to our house. I hopped onto the back of Daryl’s bike and we headed for my dad’s house.

I had him stop at the mail box and when I opened it, there was at least a week’s worth of mail shoved inside. As I pulled envelope after envelope out, I sighed in frustration. “I don’t know why he doesn’t check his damn mail…” I grumbled.

Daryl looked around for a second before he answered. “Probably too much for him to get it himself. Knows you’ll grab it eventually. He’d have to stop the car, get out, grab the mail, get back in and then drive up to the house and get out again. Or walk all the way down here. Further than you think.” He shook his head to get some of his shaggy hair out of his face.

I smiled at him and ran my hand through his hair. “Ever thought about cutting some of this off?” I teased.

He smirked and gave my hand a light kiss. “Nah…think I’ll let it get long as yours.” He winked and I tossed my head back and laughed. Climbing back on, we rode down to the house and I went inside to grab a few of my dad’s essentials. After grabbing Sampson as well, I climbed into my dad’s truck and followed Daryl back to our house.

Rick was already inside with Daddy, who was settled in the armchair in the living room. Walking in with Daddy’s things, I sat them down next to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. I couldn’t help but ask if he was doing okay and he assured me that he was feeling fine. Sampson and Leah exchanged brief sniffs before promptly ignoring one another and going their separate ways. We had spent quite a few hours at the hospital so it was too late to cook anything. Thankfully Rick told me he had ordered pizza and we sat on the couch and watched TV while we waited for it to be delivered.

Sitting in between Rick and Daryl while my father sat opposite us in the armchair, I had to be hyper aware of my actions. Typically I would lean against one while holding hands with the other, but I was worried about relaxing too much in front of my dad and letting my guard down, so I just held back from showing any affection to either man, even though I hated to do it.

When the doorbell rang, Rick got up to the pay the driver and I went to the kitchen to grab plates and napkins. Reaching into the cabinet, I felt hands wrap around my torso and I turned around to find Daryl behind me. “Well hey there,” I whispered and gave him a quick kiss.

“Hey. You doin’ okay?” he asked.

“Yea, I got these,” I replied, picking up the stack of plates.

“Nah,” he chuckled. “I mean with what happened today. With this?” and he nodded towards the living room down the hallway.

“Oh…I mean, I guess,” I shrugged. “I hate that he fell, but he’s so damn stubborn. He just won’t wear the leg and it makes me worry. I don’t know how to make it easier for him, ya know?” Daryl nodded solemnly and hugged me tight to him. I sighed in his arms and breathed his scent in, my body already relaxing next to him.

“Bethy, can  I get some tea?” I heard my father call from the living room. Pulling away from my hunter, I gave him another kiss because it would be awhile before we could do that again.

“I got it,” Daryl said and he nodded for me to head back. I gave him a brief smile and walked down the hallway. Fixing my father’s plate first, I handed him his food and Daryl handed him the glass of tea. Then we all sat down and ate in relative silence.

“Rick, the yard’s lookin’ better than I’ve ever seen it,” my father commented.

“Well, I’d love to take the credit for that, but it’s all Daryl. He certainly knows his way around the house. Fixed up the garage, helped me organize the spare room upstairs. Been a blessing really,” Rick said, reaching behind me to pat Daryl on the shoulder. I smiled at Rick and then turned to look at Daryl, who was blushing from all the praise.

“Well then,” Daddy said, trying to hide the surprise in his voice. “So Daryl, where do you hail from?”

“Uh…just outside of Macon,” Daryl mumbled in between bites.

“Got family there?” I sighed and rolled my eyes because my father’s nosiness knew no bounds, not when he got started.

“Just my brother, sir.”

“He as good a man as you?” That made me perk my ears up. My father gave compliments very few and far between. He was a man who thought you had to earn them.

“No, sir,” Daryl chuckled. “S’why I’m not there anymore…”

My father nodded and finished his slice of pizza, chewing thoughtfully before he spoke again. “So, Rick…” I had to hold back the groan that threatened to fall past my lips. I was so not in the mood for my father to lay into my boyfriend. “When you gonna make an honest girl out of my daughter?”

My eyebrows shot up at my father’s question. “Daddy!” Daryl practically choked on his bite of pizza and Rick reached around to smack him on the back while he coughed.

“Well…uh…can’t say we’ve talked about it much, Hershel,” Rick finally answered. He looked every bit as surprised as I did when he heard my father’s question. “I mean, Beth is still young. There’s no need to rush into anything. There’s no question that I love her and she knows that. When we’re ready, then we’ll be ready.”

“And in the meantime, my daughter will be living in sin. Something I think you know I don’t abide by. Beth’s my youngest and she might not seem like it, but she’s real sensitive, Rick. It’s that big heart of hers, I think. You better take care of her right.”

Putting my hand on Rick’s knee, I stopped him from saying anything back. The last thing I wanted was an argument tonight. My father was in a mood after today’s ordeal so I decided to end things for the evening. “Alright. Well, I’m beat. I think we’ve had just about enough chitchat. Rick and Daryl, if y’all will do the dishes, I’m gonna grab some sheets and blankets to make up the couch for Daddy.”

They both gave me brief nods and got up from the couch, but I could still make out a small grumble from Rick as they went to the kitchen. Grabbing all the bedding I needed, I went back to the sofa and made it up nice for my father. I helped him to the bathroom so he could change and I glimpsed the deep purple bruise that went halfway up his side from where he fell. Just looking at it made me wince, but he insisted that it didn’t hurt.

I didn’t believe him for a second but there was no telling him different. Once he was on the couch, I covered him up and gave him a kiss on the head. “You scared me today,” I whispered to him.

“Well, I didn’t mean to, sweetie. You know I love you. I’d never want to worry you,” he assured me. Squeezing his hand, I told him goodnight and turned off all the living room lights. Walking towards the kitchen, Rick and Daryl were standing at the counter, waiting for me it looked like. I scooted in close to both men and wrapped an arm around each one. They did the same and we stood together for a minute in relative peace.

“I’m gonna go…” Daryl whispered. He started to pull away but I stopped him and reached up to bring my lips to his. We kissed for a minute and I practically melted into his arms. When we broke apart, he gave me a small smirk and a short nod to Rick before heading for the backdoor.

“Night,” I sighed to him and he walked outside. Turning back to Rick, I fell into his arms and we hugged for a minute before heading up to our bed. I was exhausted and quickly crawled under the covers, cuddling up to Rick for comfort. Daryl hadn’t slept in our bed since that one night and I had been okay with it, but tonight, for some reason, the bed felt a little empty. I dozed off to sleep thinking I needed one more person next to me to feel truly content.


	20. Chapter 20

The next morning, I woke up and saw Rick and Daryl off to work, waving goodbye to them in the driveway. I had already called the diner and begged Lee for the day off. He gave it to me begrudgingly, probably because I had only called out maybe twice since I had started working there. Heading back inside, I fixed myself another cup of coffee and made one for Daddy as well.

When he limped out of the bathroom on his crutch, I told him to come out onto the porch with me and we both sat on the swing and sipped our mugs. The morning was peaceful and there was a light breeze in the air that made me hug my sweater to me just a little tighter. I always loved fall; it was like a breath of fresh air after the muggy summers that Georgia provided.

Looking over at my father, he seemed just as content as myself. It had been quite some time since we’d enjoyed a morning on the porch together, even though now we were on mine and Rick’s porch instead of his. “So, what was last night about? Just gotta start something with Rick no matter what?” I questioned my dad.

A grin broke out across his white beard and he chuckled a little. “Well, if I don’t give that man a hard time then who will?”

“Nobody because he doesn’t deserve it. He’s a good man, Daddy. He treats me right…”

“Oh, I know he does, Bethy,” my father conceded, patting a hand on my knee as he spoke. “I just worry, s’all.”

“You don’t need to. We’re doing good. And now we’ve got Daryl. He’s been really amazing. He’s become a good friend, to me and Rick both.”

“I can see that, sweetheart. Kyle McClain only has good things to say about him so far. Tell ya the truth, I’m glad you found him sweetie. I was getting worried about you staying cooped up in this house with Rick all the time. Gotta make friends, they help you live longer.”

I looked over at my dad and he had that twinkle to his eye that made me smirk. “Hey, Daddy. Why didn’t you ever find someone else…after mama?” I knew I had asked him this question a million times, but the answer always intrigued me.

“Oh…it was just never right. You’re mama…well, she was the only one for me. And I had you girls to care after. I found my love a long time ago and when I lost her…I knew I’d never find anyone special like that ever again.” His answer always warmed my heart. To know that there is love like that out in the world gave me a hope that I couldn’t describe.

“You think…you think a person could ever love more than one person that way?” I, of course, was thinking of Rick and Daryl, but I didn’t bother to go into that detail with my father.

“Well I’m sure there are people who do. Just because you love one person and then you lose them doesn’t mean you won’t ever love again. It just never happened for me.” I didn’t bother to mention that I meant two people at the same time; it would only make him curious and he would pester me with a million questions.

We spent the day in and out of the house, watching TV or playing with Leah and Sampson. Leah loved to play fetch and Sampson would just sit at our feet and watch her chase the stick. He decided that he was far too old to bother with any game like that and preferred to observe. Every so often Daddy would wince in pain and I finally got him to take some Tylenol around lunchtime. His bruise only looked worse today and I was sure it felt a little worse as well.

By the time Rick and Daryl got home, I was already starting on dinner, cooking the pork chops that I had to put away in a hurry last night. Daddy was sitting in the armchair in the living room with the news turned up loud on the TV. When both men walked in, I ran over and gave them each a hug and a kiss, smiling bright. It was good to see their faces after spending the whole day with my father. I hadn’t spent so much time with him since before I had moved in with Rick and it was more than a little tiring.

Rick went upstairs to change and Daryl went to shower. I watched him go to the bathroom with a sigh because he looked good all dirty and greased up from the garage. Squeezing my thighs together tightly, I realized that a day was more than enough of a break for me and I really craved to have the touch of my men again. Too bad that wasn’t going to happen with my father in the house.

Instead, I turned back to the corn I was shucking and tried to forget my feelings of sexual frustration. Rick came back downstairs and helped me finish dinner up. When Daryl walked out of the bathroom in only  a towel, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him. As he walked out the back door, Rick just chuckled at me and gave me a light nudge with his elbow. “Better go get a quick kiss. Dinner’s almost ready,” and he nodded towards the door.

I smirked at him and dashed outside, following Daryl’s footsteps around the house. I caught him between the garage and the side of the house and quickly grabbed his hand, pushing him back against the vinyl siding. Placing my lips on his, I brought our bodies close together and ran my hands up and down his wet torso. He moaned in surprise at first and then in pleasure as I pushed my tongue into his mouth.

He reached down and grabbed my ass, pulling me into his hips and I felt him start to grow hard against me. I bit at his lip and reached a hand down to cup his stiffening length. He groaned and pulled his head back, bringing his own hand up to squeeze at my small breasts. “Damn, girl. Look at what you doin’ to me,” he groaned, flitting his eyes downward.

I chuckled and looked down at the terry cloth clad member that I had gripped between my fingers. “I can’t help it. Saw you come outta that bathroom all wet…” He smirked at me and pulled my hand gently away. I couldn’t help but frown as he did so.

“Hmmm…think you can wait?” he asked with a raised brow.

“For what? Not like we can do anything with Daddy here. I’m sure he’s wondering where I’m at right now.” The thought of that made me worry slightly and I knew I needed to get back in the house.

“Make sure we go to bed at the same time tonight,” then he looked up at the windows that led into both our bedrooms. “Maybe we can give each other a show.” A bright smile spread across my lips and before I could kiss him again, he slipped from my grasp and backed away, heading for the garage. I sighed and gave him the finger. “Later,” he called just before turning away.

Chuckling, I walked back inside and heard my father call for some more iced tea. Rick gave me a knowing smile and I kissed him before fixing my father’s drink. Soon after, we all sat down for dinner and quietly ate in the living room while the TV played in the background. Thankfully my father decided to take pity on the two men next to me and left the questions to a minimum. Afterwards, Daryl did the dishes and Rick got out the deck of cards and challenged us to a game of rummy.

We played for the next couple hours and my father ended up winning, which wasn’t surprising because he was the one who taught me to play so well. When Daryl got up to get something from the kitchen, he nodded at Rick to follow him and I watched the two men walk down the hallway while I gave them a suspicious look. A minute later, I saw Rick walk past the living room and up the steps, coming back down a second later with something in his hand that he was trying to hide behind his back.

I squinted my eyes at him and looked to my father who was still engrossed in the TV. Finally the two men walked back to the living room and while Rick sat down next to me on the couch, Daryl remained standing. “Think I’ll turn in for the night,” he mumbled, scratching a hand over his scruffy chin.

“Yea…getting pretty tired myself. You ready for bed, baby?” Rick asked, looking towards me and running a hand through my hair.

“Uh…sure,” I replied, looking from one man to another. They both seemed to be holding back faces that said they had something planned for us and now my curiosity was piqued. “Let me get Daddy set up and I’ll see you upstairs, baby.”

“Alright. Sleep good, Hershel. You too, Daryl,” Rick said, standing from couch and heading for the stairs.

“Yep…night,” Daryl said with a nod and he gave me a surreptitious wink before he walked out.

I had to hide a smile that threatened to spread across my face as I got the couch ready for my father. Once my dad was settled, I gave him a hug and walked up the steps to see what my two men had set up. Stepping through our bedroom doorway, I shut the door behind me and turned to find Rick standing by the window with a small smirk on his face.

“Alright, what were you two doing?” I asked him. He just chuckled and motioned for me to come over to the window. Walking over, I stood next to Rick and looked out our window at the garage and found Daryl standing at his own window, looking back at me. I smiled and gave him a brief wave before I saw him bring something square to his mouth.

“Hey yourself,” I heard Daryl’s voice crackle into our room and I turned around to give Rick a confused look. He laughed at me and held up a walkie talkie that he was holding and I realized what they’d been doing. Rick must have grabbed his old walkie set from the spare room and given one to Daryl. I laughed loudly and grabbed the walkie from Rick’s hand.

“Oh, now I see what was going on. Y’all think you’re so sneaky, huh?” I said into the receiver and Daryl smirked while Rick laughed next to me.

“Maybe,” Daryl conceded and I saw him shrug from his window.

“Okay, now that I’m here, what’s the plan?” I asked both men, looking from one to the other.

Rick plucked the walkie from my hand and spoke into it. “Well, I think since this was Daryl’s idea, he should get to make the call. Tell us what you wanna see.” A mischievous twinkle sparkled in Rick’s eye and I couldn’t resist giving him a quick kiss. This was going to be fun.

“Hmmm…” I heard Daryl contemplate over the walkie. “Think maybe y’all should undress each other… go slow.” I smiled at him through the window and grabbed the walkie from Rick’s hand, sitting it down on the windowsill. Pulling Rick close, I brought our lips together while my hands reached for the hem of his shirt. Pulling it upwards, Rick lifted his arms and once I had it off, I tossed it on the floor and brought my lips and hands to Rick’s chest and torso.

Undoing his belt, I unbuttoned his pants and pulled the zipper down. Sinking my hands into his hips, I lowered my arms and pushed his pants, along with his underwear, down to his feet and he stepped out of them. I ran my hand over his half-erect cock and he smiled but we heard a quick, “Uh-uh. Didn’t say to touch yet…” come over the radio and I chuckled as I looked over to Daryl. He chastised me with a wag of his finger and I was tempted to do it anyways just to see what he would say.

But before I could, Rick started undressing me, pulling my shirt up and undoing my bra. Then he pulled my pants and underwear down as well and nuzzled his face into where my legs met, which only served to tease me because he stood back up and went to pull my hair out of its ponytail, letting it fan out around my shoulders. Turning my body towards the window, he grabbed the walkie and stood behind me as I faced Daryl. “Like what you see?” Rick asked.

“Hell yea…” Daryl growled. I could see his dark, lust-filled eyes all the way from over here and I watched him rub a hand over his crotch where there was an obvious bulge from his erection. I felt Rick’s ever-hardening length rubbing against me from behind and I moved my hips a little, rubbing my butt across his lower body. Rick sighed and ran a hand from my hip around to my ass and gave it a good squeeze.

“What next?” Rick asked in his low, sexy voice. The one that he used when he was really turned on and just the sound of it sent a small shiver up my spine.

“Mmm…Want her on her knees. Wanna see that pretty lil’ mouth go to work.” I watched Daryl as he spoke and moved to put his weight onto his forearm that he leaned against the window.

Grabbing the walkie from Rick’s hand, I spoke into the receiver. “Before I do that, I wanna see you. Clothes off.” Daryl smirked at my command, but he sat his walkie down and quickly undressed. He didn’t bother to go as slow as Rick and myself, but it was still a sight to behold. Once he was completely naked, he ran a hand across the hard cock that he had standing straight up from his hips and I bit my lip as I watched him because I wanted to taste that cock just as much as I wanted to taste Rick’s.

Satisfied, I turned towards Rick and ran my hands down his chest and stomach as I got on my knees. He was fully hard now and I held him at the base while I lowered my mouth down onto him. Swirling my tongue around the head, he sighed and leaned his arms against the window sill. The noises he made only served to encourage me and took him further into my mouth, lapping at the velvety smooth skin.

“How’s it feel?” I heard Daryl’s voice ask.

Rick huffed out a quick laugh and I felt sure that he was smiling at Daryl. “Like fucking heaven. The best mouth I’ve ever had…Mmm…the way her lips fit around my cock…fuck…” Rick hissed as I took him even deeper. “Fucking perfect…You better figure out something else ‘cause…oh, man…I can’t take too much of this…”

I heard Daryl chuckle through the walkie. “Alright, alright. Stand up and turn towards me.” I assumed he was talking to me and I pulled my mouth off Rick with a pop, standing and turning back towards Daryl. While he held the walkie with one hand, he was stroking himself with the other and I was taken back to the first night I had seen him through this window and just how turned on I was. Seeing it again right now made me feel the exact same way and I rubbed a hand over my breasts as I watched him. “Bend her over and tell me how wet she is,” Daryl said and Rick did as he was told, reaching a hand up and gently pushing me over so the palm of my hands rested on the bottom on the window sill.

He crouched behind me and ran a finger over my slit, groaning with approval. “Mmmm…she’s so fucking wet, man. Pussy’s practically soaked.” I watched Daryl nod and I shivered as Rick ran another finger over me, stopping at my clit and giving it a small rub.

“Okay, sexy. Tell me what you want.” Rick handed me the walkie and I smiled because I loved Daryl’s pet name for me when we had sex.

I thought for a second before I answered into the receiver. “I want Rick to fuck me while you touch yourself, but you can’t come until I do.”

“Think I can handle that…but you better keep that walkie on ‘cause I wanna hear every time he slams into you. Understand?” I loved Daryl’s commanding side and I nodded at him from where I was bent over the window.

“Yes, sir,” I said to add that extra touch. Daryl smiled at that and I made a note in the back of my mind to use that again because he seemed to like it. Rick took the walkie and flipped one of the buttons, then sat it down on the window. I assumed that he had flipped it for the receiver to stay on so I wouldn’t have to hold the button down while he fucked me from behind.

Rick gave me a few sweet kisses along my back before angling me slightly, so Daryl could see both of us from his window, and then I felt the head of his cock at my entrance. Rick slowly slid in and I sighed loudly as I stretched to accommodate his thick length. He rubbed his hands along my back until he was all the way inside of me, then he groaned and held my hips. “Ready?” he asked. I didn’t know if he was talking to me or Daryl but I nodded anyways and he pulled out and pushed right back in.

Gasping, this angle was practically perfect and he hit that sweet spot inside of me almost immediately. I could tell he was already worked up from the blowjob because he set a fast, pounding pace and I let out a moan each time he rolled his hips into me. “Oh fuck…” I whimpered as I watched Daryl stroke himself, his eyes focused intently on us.

“You like that, sexy?” I heard Daryl ask. I nodded and managed to stutter out some version of a yes. “Feel good? Like having me watch you while your man fucks you from behind?”

I was taken back to that moment in the garage when I told him that we had watched him through the window and how dirty he had talked to me afterwards. It had turned me on so much and it was doing the same exact thing right now, only there was one thing I didn’t like about what he said. “You’re my…oh, god…you’re my man too Daryl…” I managed to stammer out and I looked at his face through the few feet of air that separated us.

Originally, he had a dark, intense look on his face while he watched Rick fuck me, but after I spoke his eyes turned soft and I could tell that our fun little game had taken a slightly different turn. I wanted Daryl to know that he meant more to me than just some guy on the side that gave me a few good fucks. He was a big part of mine and Rick’s lives now and while Rick would always be my man, now Daryl was too, and I knew that I was starting to develop some really serious feelings for him.

I heard Rick’s breath start to pant even harder behind me and I knew he was getting close, as was I. I just needed that little extra push, but I wanted to be sure that Daryl was going to get there at the same time. Between ragged breaths, I managed to say, “Mmm…Daryl…I’m getting close…”

“Me too…jus’ tell me when,” he responded and with that I reached up and pulled on one of Rick’s hands that rested on my hip towards my center. He knew what I wanted and leaned forward to bring his fingers right to my clit. Rubbing in rough circles while he still pushed into me from behind, I felt the warm sensation of my orgasm start to build until I was just at the breaking point.

“Oh fuck…Harder baby…” I groaned to Rick and he did as I asked. He pounded his hips into me three more times and that was all I needed to send me over the edge. “Oh yea…now, Daryl…oh, fuck yes…” I groaned deeply as Daryl watched the intense pleasure wrack my body, tension creased into my face as I tried to keep my eyes open to watch him as well.

Only a few seconds later, I heard his low grunts through the walkie talkie and watched as he bit his lip while he stroked himself to completion. Jerking from root to tip, he ended up shooting his load against his window and I smiled as I watched the sticky, white fluid slide down the glass. Behind me, I heard Rick start to groan and I knew that he was about to come as well.

“Rick…wait.” Hearing Daryl’s voice through the walkie, I wondered what he wanted next. But Rick listened and slowed his movements. “I think you need to decorate our girl a little…”

“Mmmm…those tits do look a little bare…” Rick mumbled as he turned me around until I was on my knees in front of him again. We exchanged naughty smiles and he tilted my head back so it was mostly out of his range. Bringing his hand to his incredibly hard cock, he stroked himself for a few seconds until he started to spurt thick ropes of come across my breasts. Holding my hands onto his hips to steady him as he peaked, he cried out and tossed his head back while he pumped his fist up and down until he had pushed out the last drop of liquid.

When he was finally finished, I stood up and turned to face Daryl so he could see Rick’s handy work. “Fuck, sexy…You look good as hell right now. How’s he taste?” I smirked at Daryl and brought a hand to one of my nipples that was covered in Rick’s seed. Catching some of it on my finger, I brought it to my mouth and licked it clean.

“He tastes like…bliss,” and I smiled at him and then at Rick who came up behind me and wrapped his hands around my hips.

Daryl smirked and leaned his head against the window, sighing lightly. “Damn, you got me wore out.”

“Well, I think we could say the same,” I chuckled. “I think it’s time for bed but…thank you for this. Both of you.” I looked to Rick as well because he had helped set this up just as much as Daryl.

“My pleasure,” Daryl mumbled and bowed with hand on his chest.

“Mine too,” Rick said and he leaned down to pick up the walkie talkie. “See you tomorrow?” Daryl only nodded and we watched him cut his walkie off. Rick did the same and I watched Daryl for another second. Blowing him a quick kiss, I waved goodnight. He gave me a smirk and a short wave back before stepping away from the window.

Sighing, I walked to the bathroom and got cleaned up. After combing my hair and pulling on a shirt and some fresh panties, I climbed into bed next to Rick and cuddled up to him. “That was fun,” I said absentmindedly.

He chuckled and kissed the top of my head. “Yea, it was. Never thought we’d get that creative, but I liked it.” He pulled out a book from his nightstand and opened to the last page he’d flipped down. I decided to do the same and reached over to grab the book Darlene had let me borrow. I was already about a third of the way through with it and some of the sex scenes had made me blush like a crazy woman. But Darlene hadn’t lied, two men really could be hot and it had occasionally got me thinking about Rick and Daryl, but I still couldn’t really picture it.

“Whatcha got there?” Rick asked as I settled into my pillow with the book.

“Oh, this romance Darlene let me borrow,” and I showed him the title page.

He wrinkled his brow as he looked closer, then he grabbed the book and read the synopsis on the back. I could see the gears in his mind going as he finally figured out that the book was about two men instead of some damsel in distress and her hero saving her just in the nick of time. “Really? Darlene gave you this?” he asked incredulously.

“Uh-huh. It’s pretty good. Actually it’s kinda hot,” I said, snatching my book from his grasp.

“Yea? What’s so hot about two guys?” he asked, his face seeming genuinely curious.

“Well, what’s so hot about two girls in porn?” Rick thought for a minute and then shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head. “See? You don’t really have a reason, it just is. It’s the same for two guys. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but I can see the appeal.” Rick laughed and rolled his eyes at me, going back to his book, but I caught him glancing at me a few times while I blushed reading a few of the naughty scenes for the next hour or so until we went to sleep.


	21. Chapter 21

I woke early the next morning since I had get to work and open the diner. Getting dressed, I kissed Rick goodbye and he gave me his usual sleepy grunt in reply. When I went downstairs, my father was already awake, sipping coffee with Sampson on his lap in the armchair. I fixed my own to-go cup and gave my dad a hug goodbye.

“Take it easy on Daryl today,” I told him with a point of my finger.

“I don’t need a babysitter, Beth."

I rolled my eyes at my father's childish statement. “Daddy, he’s not a babysitter. He’s here to help you out, so don’t try to get up and do a lot today. You still need rest. Alright? Promise me, please.” I held out my pinky towards him and his mouth quirked into a small smile as he locked his own pinky around mine. Pinky swears were always my tried and true method of getting my father to stick to his word ever since I was little, and the fact that I still used them always made him happy.

“Have a good day, sweetie,” I heard him call from the living room as I walked out the front door. Heading for the garage, instead of going to my car, I bounded up Daryl’s steps and peaked into his room. He was still snoozing in bed but I couldn’t resist waking him for a kiss. Sitting my coffee down, I slowly lifted his covers and slid into bed with him.

He woke with a low groan and stretched his tan arms over his head. I noticed he was still naked from last night and I quickly glanced over at the window. He had cleaned his mess up but I still smiled from the memory. Turning his head towards me, his face broke into the sweetest sleepy grin and I felt my heart practically skip a beat. Oh lord, was I already falling for this man?

Turning onto his side, he wrapped his arms around me and dragged me in close to him. We embraced and our lips soon found one another and I sighed happily, not even minding his morning breath. After a minute, I pulled away because I knew I needed to get to work. “Time for me to go,” I whispered.

“Uh-uh,” he mumbled, running a hand up my leg until it slipped under my diner uniform and gripped my ass. He ground his hips into me and I felt his morning erection push hard against my lower abdomen.

Smiling, I gently pushed him away and extracted myself from the bed. “You’re just gonna have to wait until tonight, mister. Maggie should be here around eight and then Daddy’ll go back to his house and we can…” I let my words trail off but I raised my eyebrows suggestively and Daryl actually laughed at me.

“Good. ‘Cause I need some more…” and he raised his eyebrows the same as me and now I was the one giggling. Grabbing my bag and my coffee cup, I gave him one more quick kiss before I had to go.

“I told Daddy to take it easy on you today. And…thank you, for watching him. It really means a lot to me.”

He smiled up at me and gently brushed a stray hair from my face. “No problem…now get that cute ass outta here ‘fore I make you late for work.” He smacked my butt and I scoffed at him, giving him the finger as I walked down the steps. “Don’t worry. You’ll get plenty of that tonight,” I heard him call to me and I laughed as I climbed into the Saturn and cranked it.

Daryl had done some things to help it start, but he made it clear that my car was mainly a lost cause and that a new one would be needed imminently. Just the thought of how much that would cost made me worry about money, but I tried to brush it away as I pulled out of the driveway and headed to the diner.

The morning went by at an incredibly slow pace and I was so relieved when Darlene came in for the mid-morning shift. As soon as she stepped out front, she rushed up to me and gave me a big hug. “Hey honey! I’m so sorry to hear that you’re dad had an accident. Is he doing okay?”

Darlene’s kindness always made me feel better about the world in general. She was also so sweet and genuine. Smiling as I breathed in her flowery perfume, I pulled back from her embrace and nodded. “Yea, he’s doing okay. Just taking it easy and staying with us at the house. Daryl’s watching him today, but Maggie will be here tonight to take care of him at his place.”

“Well, that’s good honey. How’re things going…with your two lovers?” she asked with a wink. I laughed at the emphasis she put on the word lovers and rolled my eyes.

“Good. We’ve had to cool it for the past couple days because of my dad, obviously. But still good.” We started refilling salt and pepper shakers as we chatted behind the counter, always keeping a watchful eye out for Lee. “Oh! I’m about halfway through that book you gave me, by the way.”

“Yea?” she asked, wide eyed. “It’s good, ain’t it?” Blushing, I nodded and she giggled at my timid response. “See? I’m telling you, it’ll change the way you look at two men, I swear!” We both broke into a big fit of laughter and a few seconds later, we saw Lee poke his head out from the kitchen. Quick to go back to our serious demeanor, we cut the chitchat and made it look like we were busy.

The rest of my day went by quickly with Darlene there to keep me busy and soon enough, my shift was over. I gave her a quick hug goodbye and made my way home. When I pulled into the driveway and parked in the garage, I noticed my father’s truck was missing. Heading in the front door, I looked around found no sign of life inside, not even Leah ran up to greet me like she usually did. Sitting my bag down, I went to the kitchen and found a note on the counter. It read: Went fishing, be back soon. Daryl had signed and written the time as well, 1 p.m. That meant they’d been gone for a couple hours, and I hoped he wouldn't keep my father out too long.

I was a little annoyed because I really wanted my father to sit at home and rest, but if I knew my dad like I think I did, he probably talked to Daryl into getting out the house. My father and I were similar in that we got a little stir crazy sometimes and just needed some fresh air. At least they had driven somewhere to fish instead of walking to the lake like we had done last time. Sighing, I decided to go upstairs and change and start some laundry.

Afterwards, I took my book and sat on the porch swing, swaying gently as a fall breeze blew by. After another hour, my father’s truck finally pulled into the driveway and I stood up to watch them get out. Daryl had actually driven my father’s truck, which I found surprising, but my father didn’t seem to have any problems with it as he climbed out of the passenger side. My dad walked up to the porch and took his time climbing the steps while Daryl grabbed the fishing gear and what they had caught from the truck bed.

“Fish tonight, then?” I called out to him. He just smirked and nodded while I helped my dad up the last step and held the front door open for him. “Thought I told you to take it easy today,” I gently chided my dad. He just scoffed and rolled his eyes as he walked inside, Sampson and Leah following at his feet. Sighing, I turned back around and saw Daryl had gone to check the mail and was walking back with a few envelopes in his hand.

When he walked up the front porch, he handed me the stack of letters and gave me a quick wink before he headed inside. Looking down, I flipped through the mail and found one that we had been waiting for, Daryl’s results from the clinic. I stuff that one into my sweater pocket and walked inside, laying the rest of the mail on the coffee table. My father sank into the armchair and looked a little worn out, something that I wasn’t surprised by. “You need anything, Daddy?”

“Get me some tea, would you dear?” he asked, patting my hand gently. I nodded and walked to the kitchen where Daryl was clearing off the counter so he could clean up the fish. As I grabbed a glass from the cupboard, I pulled the envelope from my pocket and sat it down in front of him. He looked up at me and I gave him a little smile as I walked to the fridge and filled the glass for my father.

I went back to the living room and deposited the glass in his hand, but before I could go back to the kitchen to see what the contents of the envelope held, my father started chitchatting about the fish they had caught and the people they’d seen down at the lake today. My father loved to tell me stories like this and I sighed inwardly as I sat down on the couch to listen to him regale about his day.

After about half an hour, he finally finished and I noticed his glass was empty. “Refill, Daddy?” I asked in my chipper, too-nice waitress voice. Before he could answer, I grabbed the glass and headed for the kitchen. Sitting it down on the counter, I looked over and saw that the envelope still sat untouched. “You didn’t open it?” I asked in disbelief.

“Nah…thought I’d wait for you to do it,” he shrugged, rubbing his forearm across his face because his hands were covered in fish guts.

“You don’t wanna do it?” He just shook his head and nodded for me to go ahead. “Alright…” I said cautiously and picked the envelope up. Ripping the top edge open, I pulled out the folded piece of paper from the inside and opened it. Scanning it quickly, a small smile started to work across my lips which eventually turned into a big, bright grin once I had finished.

“Good?” he asked with raised eyebrows.

“Very good,” I said cheerfully. “You’re all clear. Know what that means…” and I sat the letter down on the counter as I walked up to him. His lips turned up into a smirk and he wrapped his arms around my body, careful to keep his fishy hands from touching me. Pushing me against the counter with his hips, he lowered his head and his lips brushed against mine ever so lightly.

That was like a spark to set a fire and I ran my fingers through is hair, pulling his mouth into mine. My lips parted quickly, as did his, and our tongues found one another through our deep kiss and I had to hold back the groan that wanted to push past my lips. Instead, I pulled back and pressed my forehead into his with our eyes locked together and whispered, “Mmm…I’ve missed your lips…” He chuckled and kissed me again and I could feel something start to grow from below his beltline. Then I heard the whine of a dog and I broke the kiss to look behind Daryl. Leah was laying on the floor, looking towards the hallway, and when I looked up, I saw my father standing there with a dark and furious expression planted onto his face. “Daddy!”

My father turned abruptly and walked back to the living room as fast as his prosthetic leg could take him. I stood in place, completely frozen and at a loss for words. I heard Daryl mumble “Shit!” and he unwrapped his arms from around me and went to the sink to wash off his hands. The moment he moved, I realized I should be moving too and jetted to the living room to find my father gathering his things.

“Daddy, wait. Let me explain,” although I knew that no matter what I told him, he wasn’t going to like what he heard.

“No,” he said firmly. “I don’t want to hear it, Beth Greene.” He said my first and last name and that’s how I knew he was really mad. Shoving clothes into his bag, he tugged the zipper closed and threw the bag on his shoulder. “Sampson! Come!” he yelled to the dog, smacking his thigh as well. Sampson stood up from the floor and followed my father to the door, his tail firmly tucked between his hind legs because he could sense my father’s foul mood.

“Daddy, please just listen to me!” I begged, moving to stand in front of the door so he couldn’t get away so easily.

“Beth Greene! You move away from that door right now young lady!” He shouted at me and I could see the fury in his eyes so I moved to the side as he reached for the door handle. As hard as I tried, I could never stand up to my father when he looked at me like that. Before he walked out, he looked at me hard and his voice spit fire. “Is this why you had me get him that job? Is this why you took that furniture so he could come live with you? Because you couldn’t keep your legs shut? What about Rick, Beth? Have you forgotten about him?”

My father’s words stung like a slap in the face with each question he flung at me. I tried to hold his gaze but by the end of his rant, I was looking down at the floor and wiping away the tears that started to fall down my cheeks. I didn’t see any point in lying to my father now. “He knows, Daddy…” I whispered quietly.

My father’s eyes widened in shock and outrage and he huffed out an angry breath. “I can’t believe you, Beth. Living in this…this house of SIN!” and he gestured his arms all around us. “Laying down for TWO older men, what’s wrong with you, child?”

“With all due respect, sir, there’s nothing wrong with her.” I heard a soft but strong voice speak up behind me and I turned to find Daryl standing only a foot away. “This girl’s the most amazing person I’ve ever met. And…”

Before Daryl could finish, my father cut him off. “Don’t you speak to me! You oughta be ashamed of yourself, taking advantage of this young, impressionable girl!”

“Daddy, it’s not like that,” I pleaded at him but he turned his back on me and walked out the front door. He hobbled down the steps, almost falling but catching himself at the last second. I noticed that Rick was pulling into the driveway as I followed my father outside, Daryl close behind us. “Daddy, please! Just stop for one damn second!”

Rick climbed out of his truck, his face a mess of concern as he took in the scene he came home to. “Hey baby. What’s wrong?” he asked me, walking up and wrapping an arm around my shoulder as I stood by my father’s truck. I kept wiping the tears off my face because they were blurring my vision and I wanted to be able to see everything that was happening.

“Rick! Did you know about this?!” my father asked adamantly. He threw his bag into the back of his truck and lifted Sampson into the cab.

“Know about what?” Rick asked cautiously, looking from my face to Daryl’s.

“He saw us…in the kitchen…” Daryl mumbled lowly to Rick, looking down at the ground shamefaced.

“Oh…Hershel, wait a minute. Let’s just talk about this,” Rick said to my father, trying to use his even voice to calm everyone down.

“Like hell I will! Rick Grimes, I rue the day that my daughter ever met you! She was my angel, the one I could always depend on. And look at you now, Beth! What’re you doing with your life, young lady? Because I sure as hell don’t know,” my father shook his head and I watched as the anger faded from his eyes and slowly turn to hurt and disappointment. “I…I didn’t raise you to be like this. For the first time in my life, I’m ashamed to call you my daughter.”

With that, I felt everything break inside of me and I broke into a low sob. I heard Rick try to say something, but by then my father had climbed into his truck and quickly backed out of our driveway. I felt two sets of arms wrap around me and two soothing voices try calm me down. Daryl ran a hand through my hair and Rick wiped away my tears but all I could feel was the building anger that I felt for my father.

Suddenly it was all too much and I pushed their hands away and turned towards the house. Running inside, I flew up the steps and slammed the bedroom door shut, locking it for good measure. Then I walked into the bathroom and closed that door as well. I just needed to be alone and try to figure things out. Sinking to the bathroom floor, I curled up into a ball on our fuzzy bathmat and let more tears fall.

My father’s words echoed throughout my head and I couldn’t help but replay the scene again and again. I hated to admit it but I always felt a special pride in being the daughter that my father was proud of. I knew he loved both me and Maggie the same, but he always held a special contempt for my sister because of her wild ways when she was younger.

I guess he figured I was the good child and he would never have those problems with me and I took a sick sense of satisfaction in knowing that I could throw him for a loop just as good as Maggie. But the sheer disappointment that I saw in his eyes before he left still stabbed at my heart. I never wanted to let my father down. He was all I'd ever really known and it killed me to hurt him this way. But how could I tell him, no convince him, that this wasn’t wrong?

I loved Rick and I knew that my feelings for Daryl were getting more and more intense as each day passed. Nothing about this felt wrong to me but that didn’t mean I could get my father to listen to reason. The fact that he thought I was cheating on Rick at first, that I could even do something like that, bothered me more than I realized. I wasn’t sure how long I laid on the bathroom floor but once I felt some of my tears dry up, I sat up and crawled over to the shower. Turning the water on, I pulled my clothes off and slid onto the shower floor, closing the glass door and letting the hot water pour down over me.

After a few minutes, I heard a few noises from the other side of the bathroom door and sighed because I wasn’t sure if I was ready to face Daryl or Rick. Then I heard a light knock on the bathroom door and it creaked open, but the voice I heard wasn’t either one of my men. “Sissy, you okay?”

The sound of my sister’s voice brought such a relief that I didn’t know what to say. I just felt the tears start to fall again and I called out to her. “Maggie!”

She pushed the door open at the sound of my voice and walked in, closing the door behind her. Opening the glass door, she got down on her knees next to me and pulled me into her arms, wet hair and all. “Hey, don’t cry…” she said quietly. “It’s okay…Tell me what happened…”

“They didn’t tell you?” I managed to blubber. She shook her head and continued to hold me in her arms. Once I calmed down a little, I pulled back and told her the entire story, from start to finish. From the first day I saw Daryl at the diner to what had transpired when our father left only a little while ago. She sat and listened intently, occasionally raising her eyebrows in surprise but never in judgement. I could always depend on my sister to be understanding.

Once I had finished, she sat there quietly for a minute before standing up and turning the shower off. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my shoulders and helped me stand up, drying me off and grabbing some clothes for me to put on. Once I was dressed she opened the bathroom door to the empty bedroom and sat me on the bench at the foot of the bed. Sitting behind me, she combed through my hair like she did a million times before when we were younger.

“So why didn’t you tell me?” she asked gently as she worked through a tough knot.

I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. “Oh…I don’t know. It really just happened. I was still getting used to it, ya know?”

“Okay. So what are we going to do about Daddy?”

“God…I have no clue. You should have seen the look in his eyes, Maggie. He hates me…” Tears threatened to well up in my eyes again and I took a deep breath in an effort to hold them back.

“Sissy, he doesn’t hate you. He loves you. You’re just his little girl and he’s worried. You’re living here with two older men, doing all kinds of things, and now he knows it. He’s thinking that they’re taking advantage of you.”

“But that’s not what’s happening!” I replied indignantly, turning to look at my sister with wide eyes.

“Okay, okay. I believe you, I promise. But Daddy doesn’t know what to think of all this. It doesn’t make sense in his eyes. He’s still real old school, ya know?” I nodded as she spoke and she continued. “To him there’s only one man for one woman. Anything else is wrong because that’s all he’s known his whole life. Old men are stubborn, Sissy. You just gotta talk to some sense into him.”

“Maybe…So what do you think of all this?” I looked at my sister intently to see if I could judge her reaction. She hadn’t said much while I told her the story of how everything had happened and I was curious to hear her take on things.

“Well…it’s certainly non-traditional,” she chuckled. I rolled my eyes and went to nudge an elbow into her.

“Oh, c’mon Maggie. Really though, what do you think?” I asked her earnestly because I needed to know that at least one family member was on my side.

“I think…that you should do whatever makes you happy. Now I would have never guessed in a million years that you’d be up for something like this, but once you told me…it kinda made sense, ya know? Daryl seems real nice, like he cares about you a lot. And we all know how head over heels Rick is for you! And while I don’t think I could do it, I’m a little envious ‘cause I bet the sex is out of this world!” She threw her head back and laughed and soon I was chuckling with her. We settled back down and she went back to combing. “So, are you happy? With both of them?”

“Oh, Maggie…” I stopped her hand and turned around to look her in the eyes. “I’m so unbelievably happy. Like I told Rick, I never thought I could feel this way about someone once I already felt the way I did for Rick, but when Daryl came along…everything changed. He was something special and…I think I knew it from the get go. No matter how mad Daddy is at me, I’ll never regret bringing Daryl into mine and Rick’s relationship.”

Her eyes softened and a sappy smile spread across her face, one of those smiles every woman gets when hear about love. Once she finished with my hair, she sat the comb down and brought her arms around me to give me a big hug. “I’m sorry about what happened today. But maybe it was meant to be, for Daddy to find out. It’ll blow over, I promise. The important thing is that you’re happy with who you’re with, right?”

“Yea…you’re right,” I nodded.

“Of course I am. Big sister knows all. Now if I were you, I’d go downstairs and remind those two men because they looked pretty shaken up when I got here.”

“Oh no!” I said, pulling away from her arms and standing up. “Were they okay?”

She stood as well and opened the bedroom door that seemed to be missing a doorknob. I realized that Rick must have taken it off to let Maggie inside of the bedroom and I flushed with embarrassment. “They were pretty worried. They didn’t know what to do and they looked so relieved when I pulled up.”

I only nodded in reply as we walked down the stairs. Turning left, I saw both my men sitting on the couch next to one another with solemn looks on their faces. They really did look worried and I felt guilty for making them feel that way. I quickly made my way to the couch and wrapped my arm around both their necks, squeezing them tight.

They did the same to me and we held each other for a minute before Maggie cleared her throat and I pulled away with a small smirk. Scooting them apart, I sat down in between them and held their hands. They both looked at me cautiously but Rick was the first one to speak. “You okay?” he asked quietly.

“Yea…I’m better. Not great. But better. Maggie helped,” and I gave my sister a smile.

She walked up and gave me a quick hug before grabbing her purse. “Well, I guess I’ll go check on the old man. You think you might wanna come by tomorrow? Maybe we can talk some sense into him together.”

“Guess I gotta start somewhere. I’ll come by tomorrow morning.” She nodded at me and turned to go, but ended up stopping at the front door and turning back towards us.

“I can tell you both care about my sister a lot and that’s good. But I’m saying this just for the sake of saying it. If either one of you hurt her, I won't hesitate to kick your teeth in.”

“Maggie!” I cried out and looked at Rick and Daryl. They both only smiled though and nodded their heads.

“Yes, ma’am,” said Daryl and Rick echoed his sentiments. Maggie nodded approvingly and then headed outside. Once she left, I sighed and relaxed against the couch, squeezing Rick and Daryl’s hands tightly.

“Didn’t expect the day to turn out like that,” I mumbled, hoping to lighten the mood a little.

“Neither did I. You really okay, baby?” Rick asked, taking his hand and running it through my still damp hair.

“I’ll get there. It was just really tough to hear him say that.” I frowned slightly and sighed as his words bounced around my head once more time.

“I…uh…I’m real sorry…how that happened,” Daryl said quietly, looking down at his hands that he held in his lap. When I looked over at him, I realized that he was eat up with guilt. I could see it clearly written across his face and I felt awful for letting him feel that way.

“Hey, look at me,” I told him softly. He slowly brought his eyes up to mine and I grabbed both his hands. “This ain’t your fault. If anything, it was mine for being careless. But Maggie said that maybe it was meant to happen this way and maybe she’s right. Because now I don’t have to hide you from my father and I kind of like that. I don’t like the way it happened, but you should know that I don’t regret anything. Not now…not ever.”

“Yea?” I nodded at him to make sure he understood what I was saying. “You jus’…seemed so hurt. I hated being the cause of that…”

“You weren’t the cause of that. My father was and I’ll deal with him later. You tried to stick up for me that means the world to me. You should of seen the sex I gave Rick after the first time he talked back to my father.” Daryl cracked a small smile and I felt a little relieved at seeing it.

“Yea, it’s true. She was wild that night,” Rick said with laughter to his voice and he rubbed a hand across my back. I turned to him and grabbed his hand so now I was holding both men’s hands again.

“How are you feeling about this?” I asked Rick. He sighed and ran his empty hand through his dark set of curls.

“Well, I certainly didn’t need another reason for him to hate me, but hell, might as well give him another one, right?” Rick winked at me and I knew he was just fine.

“Might as well,” I nodded. “Is there food?” I realized that I was super hungry and it was a lot later than I had realized, already after nine.

“Yea, hang on,” and Daryl got up from the sofa, heading for the kitchen. While he was gone, I leaned into Rick and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. Kissing my head, I closed my eyes and quietly enjoyed this small moment.

“You tired, baby?” he whispered into my curls. I nodded and just the mention of being tired brought on a big yawn. “Wanna head to bed after you eat?”

“Yea, today’s been rough. Can Daryl come with us?” I looked up at Rick’s eyes to gauge his reaction, but he only smiled and nodded. I think he knew that I needed the comfort of both my men tonight. After a minute, Daryl brought me a plate of fried fish with mac and cheese and I practically devoured it all in one bite. While I munched, I saw Daryl pull a piece of paper out of his pocket and hand it to Rick.

I watched Rick open it and recognized Daryl’s test results which came back all clear. Rick’s face split into a big smile and he leaned behind me to pat Daryl on the back. “Alright! That’s good news man.”

“Yea…actually it was the good news that started us in the kitchen…when Hershel walked in on us,” Daryl mumbled and I reached a hand over and placed it on his, giving it a light squeeze.

“Can’t think of a better reason to get caught by him; excitement caused by the fact that you get to fuck his daughter without a condom now.” Rick and Daryl broke out into chuckles and I smiled through my bites of fish, but I did give Rick a good slap on the leg for is bawdiness. Once I finished, Rick took my plate to the kitchen and me and Daryl stood from the couch.

“I think it’s time for bed,” I said absentmindedly. I grabbed Daryl’s hand started to pull him to the staircase.

“Me too?” he asked, slightly confused. Rick walked up behind him and patted him on the back, giving him a slight push forward.

“Yea, I think I need you both tonight. But…is it okay if we don’t do anything? I’m really tired and I just want you both next to me.”

“Of course, baby,” Rick said reassuringly from behind Daryl. Daryl just nodded as he still seemed surprised that he was coming to bed with us and not even for sex. His expression made me chuckle and I just pulled him up behind me with Rick following close behind.


	22. Chapter 22

When we walked into the bedroom, we all quickly shed our clothes and headed to the bed. Rick climbed into his side in only his boxer-briefs and I scooted in towards the center wearing my usual tank top and undies. Daryl, of course, didn’t wear any underwear so he laid down next to me naked as the day he was born. I didn’t mind and curled up behind Rick as he turned to face the wall. Wrapping my arms around his torso, I gave his back a light kiss before settling in behind him.

I felt a little too much space between me and Daryl so I reached behind me and pulled his arm around my waist, bringing him in close. “Alright, alright. We all lil’ spoons now,” he grumbled behind me and I giggled because he was right. He made a point to keep some space between our hips but that didn’t stop the small poke in my back from his erection. I didn’t care though and we settled into the bed all cuddled together and dozed off. My father’s words finally faded from my mind as I realized that this was the best place in the world for me and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

A few hours later, I woke up pouring sweat. Being between two warm bodies and under a heavy duty quilt did nothing for my body temperature and I sleepily kicked the covers off. Daryl and Rick were breathing steadily next to me, but my movement caused a small disturbance. “Those’re mine too…” Daryl mumbled quietly, pulling the covers back up halfway.

“But it’s hot…” I whined to the man who still laid cuddled up behind me. He shook his head no and mumbled a slightly incoherent phrase that sounded like “uh-uh,” before he squeezed me tighter and curled up closer to me. Sighing, I wiggled the covers down some more, rubbing my body against his in the process.

“Mmm…better cut that out,” Daryl growled a low warning. A sleepy smile broke out on my face because I felt something start to grow and push against my back. I couldn’t resist the temptation and ended up pushing my butt back into his hips, rolling it around a little. Now I really felt his erection pressing into me and he grabbed my hip as he pushed his pelvis into my wiggling butt. “I mean it…or else,” he threatened lightheartedly.

“What're y'all doing?” Rick suddenly spoke up on the other side of me and I watched him turn his head to the side so he could look at us from the corner of his eye.

“Rick, best get a grip on this girl. She’s tryin’ to start some things…” Rick turned over and I could see a ghost of a smile on his face in the darkness of our bedroom.

“Is that so? What’re you doing to that poor man, baby?” Rick asked me, using his teasing tone.

“Nothing that he ain’t enjoying,” I replied and both men chuckled. I rolled my butt into Daryl one more time and he held me still with his hand while he pushed right back, sighing slowly. Bringing his hand from my hip down to my butt, he gave it a quick squeeze before he slipped it between my legs and traced his fingers over my panties, stopping once his fingers found my sensitive bud.

He ran his fingers over the cotton material, giving my clit rough stimulation that made me shiver in pleasure. Rick watched for a second before coming closer and running his hands under the hem of my tank top. He slowly dragged it up until my breasts were exposed and gently squeezed each nipple until they stood at hard points. Bringing his mouth down to where his hands were, he took a nipple past his lips and gave it a light suck and then a gentle nibble, but he bit hard enough to make me give a sharp intake of breath.

The mixture of Daryl teasing me below while Rick played with me up top had me ready to go in only moments and I knew that my panties were damp from my desire. I lifted the leg that wasn’t against the bed up a little to give Daryl better access and he took the hint and shifted my panties to the side, dipping a finger into my wetness.

“Fuck…this pussy’s already soaking wet. You ready for me that easy, sexy?” Daryl asked, leaning into my ear so I could feel his warm breath tickle me. He pushed one finger farther into me and I moaned lightly while I ran a hand through Rick’s mess of curls, giving Daryl a slight nod to answer his question. Daryl pulled his hand away from my center and looking down, I could see the glimmer of my wetness shine a little from the moonlight that entered through our bedroom windows.

Rick tilted his head up and saw it as well. He pulled his mouth away from my breast then and gently grabbed Daryl’s hand. “Let me taste,” he whispered and he pulled Daryl’s finger into his mouth, puckering his lips right up to the knuckle and licking away my essence. My mind practically exploded with desire and if I was wet before, I was absolutely pooling with lust after watching Rick suck on Daryl’s finger.

When he pulled the digit out with a pop, I groaned with need. “Oh my god…somebody better fuck me right now…” Both men chuckled, but Daryl was the one to speak.

“Yes, ma’am,” and he brought the same hand back to my hip and pulled my panties down. While he tossed them off the bed, Rick helped me pull my tank top off, and even though I was completely naked, I was still burning up. I felt my entire body flush red as my craving for both of my men only built more and more. I went to turn onto my back but Daryl pushed back into the same position I was in on my side, still facing Rick.

“No, like this…” he commanded and he lifted my leg so it was propped up on his thigh. He scooted down a little lower and I felt the head of his cock brush against my ass and then dip between my legs. He leaned up and turned me towards him a little for a quick, but furious kiss, one where our tongues fought for control and he eventually won. As he pulled his lips back, I felt his hand reach down between us and he guided his hard length to my entrance.

Rick scooted closer to me and his hand drifted down to between my legs, helping to spread me open so Daryl could slip into me easier. I gripped Rick’s shoulders and brought our lips together right as Daryl slid into me. I groaned a little into Rick’s mouth but that was nothing compared to Daryl’s loud moan as he pushed himself in as far as he could go. His hand squeezed my hip so tight that I knew I was going to have a bruise in the morning, but I didn’t care because his sounds of ecstasy were well worth it.

Rick smiled against my mouth and pulled back to look at Daryl. “Worth the wait?” he asked Daryl.

“Fuck...like I been waitin' my whole life...” Daryl managed to stammer out. He brought his lips to my back and started to kiss and bite me as he slowly pulled out and pushed back in. I sighed in pleasure as he filled me up and I adjusted to his length. I pulled Rick even closer and brought our mouths back together as Daryl worked his hips from behind, kissing my back and shoulder every now and then and reaching up to cup one of my breasts.

Bringing my hand down, I cupped Rick’s hardness through is boxer-briefs before I pulled the waistband down, exposing him to the night air. I started to stroke him and he began to make sweet, little moans in between our kissing. Before long, Daryl was going at a fast pace, thrusting into me hard enough to make me lose concentration and I ended up bringing my hand to Rick’s chest to help steady myself while my pleasure mounted.

While I moaned along with Daryl, Rick brought a hand to my swollen lips and slipped a finger past them to circle my clit. He rubbed me in quick little circles and I brought my eyes to his as I felt my orgasm fast approaching. He kissed me abruptly before pulling back and asked, “You like that, baby? Does that feel good?” I nodded in reply because I knew whatever words I tried to speak would only come out like gibberish. “You like Daryl fucking you like this? You want him to come inside that sweet little pussy?”

The mixture of his dirty talk and his finger working those perfect little circles while Daryl pushed into me hard from behind sent me over the edge and I dug my nails into Rick’s shoulders as an intense orgasm crashed over me. My toes curled and I ended up hooking my propped up leg behind Daryl’s knees as I cried out. “Oh god…yes baby…oh fuck yes!”

Every muscle in my body tensed and my eyes squeezed shut as I gasped for breath. Just as I started to come down, I felt Daryl grip me tight and he grunted deeply, “Fuck…goddammit…” He buried his head into my neck as he pushed into me a few more times and I reached back to run my fingers through his hair. He wrapped his arm around my waist and tightly squeezed me to him, kissing my neck before he finally pulled out.

Before I could even catch my breath, Rick wrapped his own arms around me and ended up laying me on my back as he climbed on top. He kissed me gently and lined his thick, hard length up to me. He slipped right in after Daryl had already opened me up, but Rick was thicker and I had to adjust to his size as well. He groaned once he was fully seated inside of me and pushed his forehead against mine with his eyes squeezed shut. “Mmmm…don’t know how long I’m gonna last, baby. After watching that…”

He bit his lip but I pushed his head up and made him look at me. “Just fuck me like you always do, baby.” I gave him a reassuring smile and he grinned back. Starting slow, he worked his hips into me while I brought our lips together. I felt Daryl run a soothing hand through my hair and I broke my kiss with Rick to turn to my other man. He leaned forward and we kissed for a moment as Rick steadily picked up his pace.

His breathing increased and I felt him go harder and harder until he groaned deeply and practically collapsed on top of me. I chuckled a little and looked over to Daryl who was smiling as well. Running my hands along Rick’s back, after a minute he finally sat up on his knees, sitting in between my legs. Taking his hand, he lightly dragged his fingers from my neck, across my breasts, past my stomach until he reached where my thighs met.

Using his thumb he started to rub more circles into my clit, making me shiver in pleasure. He grinned at me mischievously and moved his thumb faster until I was bucking my hips because the sensation was too much. He chuckled but instead of slowing his pace, he pulled his thumb away and instead slid one finger, then another inside of me. I sighed in pleasure and felt Daryl bring a hand to my front, gently running light fingers over my breasts to just ever so slightly sensitize them.

Rick slowly turned his hand so that his fingers curled upwards inside of me and then he started to work them in and out. My breathing picked up almost immediately and I felt renewed warmth start to build inside of me. Steadily, he increased his pace and pushed them even harder. Soon, I was gripping at the sheet as I panted in pleasure.

Daryl slowly slid his hand down my body until he reached just above Rick’s hand and started to rub my sensitive bud, starting off slow and working his fingers side to side. I bit my lip to try to hold back some of my moans but it was no use because I could feel my peak getting closer and closer. “Oh, fuck…oh, fuck,” I grunted, starting to lift my hips in time with Rick’s hand.

Daryl’s fingers were relentless as well and after a minute I felt another orgasm shoot through my body. I groaned and writhed on the bed as pleasure buzzed through me, touching every inch of my skin. Once the aftershocks had worn off, I laid on the bed trying to catch my breath, sheets still twisted in my hands. Daryl ran his fingers soothingly over my arms and legs, making my sensitive flesh tingle.

Rick finally pulled his fingers from me and looked at them in the small amount of the moonlight that illuminated our room. I could see the sheen of wetness that coated them and knew that that was all three of us, together. Rick looked down at me and saw me watching. “You wanna taste us baby?”

I licked my lips and nodded, leaning up on my elbows as he brought his hand down to my mouth. I closed my lips around his two fingers and swirled my tongue around, lapping up every bit. The salty, musky taste mixed together and I swallowed as I pulled my head back, giving both men a small smile.

“What do we taste like?” Daryl asked, rubbing a finger over my slightly flushed cheek.

“Like…perfection?” I chuckled. “No…more like…we belong together…” Both men’s eyes softened as they laid back down, me on my back and them on their sides facing me. I picked up a hand from each man and gave it a light kiss, bringing one to my chest and then the other, placing my own hands on top. I felt their warmth radiate into me and I sighed in utter contentment. Rick pulled the blanket back over us and we all fell into a completely blissful sleep.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry folks. This one turned out super long.

When I turned over the next morning and slowly opened my eyes to the clock on the bedside table, it read just after seven. Stretching my arms and legs out, they brushed against the men who laid on either side of me. Rick didn’t even bother to wake up, but Daryl grumbled a bit and turned to face me. I watched his peaceful face for a minute before he peeked an eye open and sighed.

“Time is it?” he croaked out.

“Little after seven,” I told him and brushed some hair out of his eyes. He groaned and pulled the covers up around his shoulders as I started to shimmy out of them and crawl from the bed. “Want some coffee?” I asked him, smacking his butt that was covered by the quilt.

He shook his head and yawned. “Nah, wake me in a like an hour?” Leaning over him, I gave the top his head a brief kiss before I told him I would. I threw on my big sweater and headed downstairs, starting the coffee and grabbing the newspaper once I’d let Leah out to do her business. It was a little too chilly for the porch so I sat on the couch and sipped my coffee while I watched the news and flipped through the paper.

Once I was done, I folded the news pages back up and sat them on the coffee table for Rick to read later. Glancing at the clock, it was time for Daryl to get up since he had to work at the garage today. I figured I would get dressed as well and head over to my father’s house. He was an early riser and his mood was usually a little better in the mornings as well, so I hoped to catch him in a good moment.

When I walked back up the stairs, I stopped at the doorway as I watched my two men snooze in the bed. Daryl was sprawled out on his back with his arms tossed over his head and Rick had turned over and reached a hand out that was currently resting on Daryl’s stomach. I think Rick must have turned over in his sleep and gone to grab for me like he always did and found Daryl instead. Even so, the image made me smile a little to see the two men together in bed. Maybe Darlene was on to something…

Brushing away my lusty thoughts, I walked up and sat down next to Daryl. Tickling my fingers around his neck, he jumped awake and smiled when he saw me sitting there. “Gonna make me jump ten feet off this bed, girl.”

“Well, that’d be a sight to see,” I said, standing up and gathering some clothes from the dresser. Watching Daryl, he slowly rubbed at his eyes and stretched a little before looking down and realizing that Rick’s hand was laying on him. His eyes looked a little surprised and he glanced over to the still sleeping Rick. “Told you he wouldn’t cuddle you too much,” I teased and Daryl ended up throwing a pillow at me.

Laughing as I dodged it, he slowly picked Rick’s hand up and slid it to the bed, careful not to wake the sleeping man the hand was attached to. Once the deed was done, he stood up and walked to the bathroom, not bothering to shut the door as he took his morning pee. I blushed a little because I hadn’t expected him to be that open, but then again after all we’d shared, why wouldn’t he be? I pulled on a pair of jeans and an oversized sweater with a tank on underneath it. Twisting my hair up into a bun, I headed to the bathroom to find an elastic to secure it.

Once Daryl was finished, he washed his hands and ended up standing at the bathroom counter watching me brush my teeth. Blushing slightly, I gave his arm a light push and asked “What?” with a mouth full of bubbly toothpaste. He just smirked and shook his head, walking back to the bedroom where I heard him pulling his clothes back on.

When I was finished, Daryl had already gone downstairs and I sat next to Rick and gave his back a light scratch to wake him. He groaned a little and turned over, giving me a big, sleepy grin once his eyes focused a little. “Hey baby. Whatcha doin?” he asked with a half yawn.

“Think I’m gonna head over to Daddy’s. Try to catch him early, hopefully in a better mood. I’ll be back soon though.” Rick nodded his head and pulled me down for a quick good morning kiss. His lips felt soft and warm and I sighed into him. This kiss gave me some of the courage I’d been lacking when I woke up this morning and I had a renewed sense of what I wanted to get across to my father.

Pulling back, I gave him a quick smile and ran my hand through his messy, morning curls. “I love you,” I whispered and he returned the sentiment before cuddling back into his pillow. Heading downstairs, I drained the rest of my coffee and loaded the dishwasher, flipping it on before I left so I could empty it when I got home. Glancing around the house, I didn’t see Daryl anywhere and I assumed he must have gone to his room to get ready for work.

Walking out the front door, I cut across the yard and headed into the garage. Taking the steps two at a time, I bounded up to Daryl’s room and saw him sitting at his desk with his notepad out, thoughtfully tapping his pencil against his cheek. “Hey, I’m ‘bout to head over to Daddy’s. Maybe I can talk some sense into him.”

“Good luck with that,” Daryl replied, wrapping an arm around my hips as I stood close to him and ran my fingers through his hair. Turning my eyes to his notepad, I saw what looked to be three pairs of legs all tangled together. Two pairs were obviously men’s legs and one pair looked a lot more daintier, so I figured those must be mine.

“Aw, is this us?” I asked, picking the notepad up to get a closer look.

“Yea...not done yet. Figured if I wanted to draw myself, might as well start simple…” He shrugged his shoulders and turned his eyes to the wall. It tickled me a little to see how shy he got showing me this part of himself but he had no problem peeing in front of me this morning.

“I like it. You should show it to Rick. I know he’d like to look at all these. He loved the ones that I took the other day.”

“Showed him those?” Daryl asked with raised eyebrows.

“Well, yea. Why wouldn’t I? I mean, they were so nice. Can’t help it if I wanna show you off, ya know?” He chuckled and pulled me in his lap, bringing our lips together. I pulled back and looked into his eyes to see if I could tell what he was thinking. But the man was practically a stone, not giving anything away. “Was it okay that I showed him?”  

“Yea…I guess. Jus’ didn’t want him thinkin’ it was weird for me to be drawin’ him…I don’t know.” Daryl shrugged again and looked down, fiddling with a spare string that hung from my sweater sleeve.

“You don’t have to worry about that. Rick liked your drawings, said he wanted one with all three of us together.”

Daryl perked up a little at that. “Yea? Maybe if I ever get ‘round to drawin’ myself, I could do somethin’ like that.”

“I think he’d like that a lot. Well, I’m gonna go. See you when you get home?” He nodded and we shared one more kiss before I hopped in the Saturn and drove to my father’s house. Pulling onto the long driveway, I sat the Saturn behind his truck since Maggie’s car was parked next to his.

As I slammed the car door shut, I glanced up to find my father and Maggie sitting on the front porch. Walking closer, my father sat stoic in his old rocking chair while my sister gave me a reassuring smile. “Morning Sissy!” she called out and I returned her smile to let her know I was doing better.

“Morning.” I slowly walked up the steps and leaned against the porch railing, looking at my father who refused to look at me.

“Want some coffee?” Maggie asked. I went to tell her no but my father was quick to cut me off.

“That won’t be necessary. She’s not staying.” His words hurt but I held my shoulders back and my chin high, letting them deflect off of me like I was wearing armor.

“Daddy!” Maggie started to chide, but I held my hand up to her.

“No, it’s okay. I only came to say my peace. I won’t be here too long.” Grabbing the empty chair next to my sister, I dragged it over and sat it right in front of my dad, plopping down so he had no choice but to look at me. “Daddy…” I started.

“No Beth. I don’t wanna hear it,” my father said defiantly.

“Well that’s too bad because you’re gonna sit there and listen to me whether you like it or not. You said what you wanted to yesterday, now it’s my turn.” I steeled my gaze at him and he bristled slightly at my stern tone. He knew I wasn’t going to back down. Glancing at my sister, even she seemed a little surprised at how determined I sounded. “You have to know something. Nothing happened between me and Daryl until after he moved in with us. He really was someone that I’d met at the diner and I knew he needed help, that’s why I asked you to get him a job. No ulterior motives or anything like that. Just good, old fashioned helping someone out.

“But I knew I was attracted to him and that only got worse the more I got to know him. He’s a good man, even you said so. That hasn’t changed since yesterday and it’s not going to. Rick knew something was off and we finally talked about it and he was okay with it. He trusts me and he trusts Daryl, and that’s really all that matters. So…yes, I’m with both of them.”

My father grunted his disapproval and shook his head, eyes clouding over with anger once more. “I know that’s not what any father wants to hear, but I’m still the same person, Daddy. The same girl you raised with good morals and a big heart. That hasn’t changed…I haven’t changed. Who I date shouldn’t change that.”

“Beth, you don’t understand,” my father bit out, slapping his hand on the arm of his rocker. “People aren’t gonna look at you the same. They’re all gonna have these pre-conceived notions…”

“What? They’ll think I’m a slut…or a whore? Let them! They don’t know anything about me and if they can take one look at me and judge me like that, then those aren’t the kinds of people I want in my life anyways. You shouldn’t want those people in your life either.”

My father sighed and the anger faded from his eyes and turned to a sadness that made me ache. I didn’t know what else to say to him to make him accept me, Rick, and Daryl. I leaned forward and grabbed his hand, giving it a light squeeze. “I just need to know that you still love me, Daddy. I know you’re ashamed…but I don’t think I can do anything to change that right now.”

We sat there quietly for a minute before he finally sighed and whispered, “Of course I still love you. You’re my daughter. I’ll always love you, Bethy. But I just don’t know…I don’t know if I’ll ever understand any of this…”

“I don’t expect you to…but don’t hold anything against Rick or Daryl. Please. I want to be with them just as much as they want to be with me. They did nothing wrong.”

“I can’t make you any promises, sweetie.” My father took on a resigned expression and I knew he was done talking for now. Standing from the chair, I leaned over and gave him a light hug and a kiss on the cheek. Scooting the chair back, Maggie stood and gave me a tight hug.

“I’m proud of you,” she whispered in my ear and I smiled a little as we pulled apart. Squeezing her hand one last time, I walked to the porch steps but before I could walk to my car, my father called out to me.

“I expect you to be at church tomorrow.” I had to keep myself from rolling my eyes but a small sigh did manage to work its way past my lips. Looking back at my father and sister, I started to protest but Maggie piped up.

“I’ll come too, Sissy,” she said quickly, giving me a reassuring smile. Her way of letting me know I wouldn’t be left for the wolves all by my lonesome.

“Okay, I’ll be there,” I sighed.

Once I pulled back into my own driveway, I saw that Daryl had already left for work, so I headed inside and found Rick reading the paper that I’d left him. “Hey baby. How’d it go?”

Sighing and shrugging my shoulders, I sank down into the couch next to him and leaned my head against his shoulder. “As good as can be expected, I guess. Told him that nothing happened until after Daryl moved in. You’re okay with everything that’s happened. Said not to hate either one of you because I want to be with you two just as much as you want to be with me. And that’s about it. Oh, and he wants me to go to church tomorrow. But Maggie'll be there, so I guess I'll go.”

“Hmmm,” Rick said thoughtfully, running a hand through my hair. “Wanna walk Leah by the lake today? Get out of this house for bit?” I smiled and nodded at him, leaning in for a kiss. He always knew how to get my mind off any bad thoughts I was having. While he changed, I fixed us a picnic to bring along with us and we set out to walk the path that lead to the water’s edge from our house. Leah followed closely behind us, running around gleefully.

Once we got to the same spot that we had fished at with Daryl, I spread a blanket on the ground and we relaxed together. I zipped my jacket up since the wind was blowing across the lake today, making a chill of the air even though the sun was out. We both pulled books out and read, chitchatting every now and then between page flips.

When I finished my book, the one that Darlene had let me borrow, I sat it down and got the food out that I had brought along. As we munched, we watched Leah run around, dipping her feet into the water and chasing the few fish that she happened to spot. “So how was it?” Rick asked, nodding towards the book I’d just finished.

“Oh, it was good,” and I gave him a suggestive smile. He chuckled and threw a chip at me which landed in my lap. Picking it up, I popped in my mouth and crunched on it. “No, it really was good. Kinda opened my eyes.”

“Yea? To what exactly?”

“Oh… just some things…” I feigned innocence and Rick scoffed at my silliness. “Daryl asked me something interesting this morning. If you were okay with him drawing you? I think he was worried what you’d think about it,” I said, changing the subject a little.

“Why’s that? His drawings were nice, I liked ‘em.”

Laying down on the blanket next to Rick, I propped my head up and ate another chip. “I don’t know. Guess he didn’t want you to think anything about it. Of course, you were the one cuddling him in bed this morning.”

Rick furrowed his brow and looked at me with a confused expression. “Cuddling? What do you mean?”

“Well it wasn’t really cuddling. You just put your hand on his tummy while he laid on his back. I think you must have thought it was me in your sleep.”

“Oh…” he said thoughtfully, lying down and mirroring my own stance. “Hope I didn’t run him outta bed…” he chuckled half-heartedly.

I smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “Nah…I think he thought it was funny more than anything. Not like he flung your hand off or nothing.” Pushing Rick onto his back, I laid my head on his chest and we both started to doze off for a short afternoon nap. Waking a little while later, we walked back to the house and spent the rest of the afternoon being lazy until Daryl came home.

He gave me a quick kiss and patted Rick on the shoulder before heading straight for the bathroom to shower off the grease from the garage. Once he was all clean and dressed, he sat down with me and Rick while we were discussing what to do for dinner. “Mmm…you feel like cooking?” I asked Rick, who only groaned and shook his head. I knew I sure as heck didn’t feel like making dinner, so I turned my head to the man who sat on the other side of me.

“Don’t look at me,” Daryl shook his head. Sighing, I rolled my eyes and threw my hands in the air.

“Well, y’all are just a big help, aren’t ya? Nobody feels cooking but no one offers any other suggestions.”

“You better get used to this, Daryl. Half this relationship is about deciding what’s for dinner,” Rick said in an exasperated tone. I scoffed and gave Rick’s ribs a light poke after which he grabbed my hands and tried to tickle my neck.

“Alright, alright.” Daryl wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me onto his lap, effectively taking me out of Rick’s reach. Rick instead tried to go for my feet, but I was never ticklish there, so once he saw he’d been beat, he gave up with a slight pout. “How ‘bout I settle this. Let’s go out to eat. My treat.”

“You ain’t gotta do that, Daryl,” Rick said with soft eyes.

“Nah, I want to. Y’all been so good to me…think I can take care of y’all for a change…”

“Aw…you taking us out on a date then?” I asked Daryl, running my hands through his hair.

“Yep, so go get sexy. I want me and Rick thinking ‘bout how bad we want you all night long.” Daryl gave my butt a light smack and I giggled as I stood from the couch. Rick gave me a quick wink and I ran up the stairs to go make myself look nice. After a quick shower, I did my hair and makeup and threw on a dark green dress that had cap sleeves and flared out at the waist. I even put on red lipstick to give myself that extra look of seduction.

Putting on a pair of small black heels, I grabbed one of my nicer jackets and made my way downstairs. The boys were laughing on the couch looking at something on Rick’s phone. Their shoulders bumped together as they chuckled and I couldn’t help but think how happy they looked in that moment and that made me just as happy. When I walked into the living room though, their laughter quickly faded as they took me in.

“Goddamn…” Daryl muttered, rubbing a hand at his scruffy chin.

“You sure we gotta go anywhere? I could think of plenty of things we could do right here at home,” Rick said absentmindedly as his eyes roamed across my body. I rolled my eyes and slowly backed away from both men before they could grab me and pull me onto the couch. That would surely start something that I knew I wouldn’t want to stop.

“C’mon now. I was promised a date,” I said behind my shoulder as I opened the front door and made my way to the driveway. We piled into Rick’s truck and I held hands with both men as we made our way into town. The boys had decided on the only really good steakhouse Cedarville had to offer and we pulled into the parking lot a few minutes after seven.

Both Rick and Daryl ordered steaks and groaned at me when I ordered the salmon, but I gave them the finger and happily ate my meal. Once we were all stuffed to the gills, we waddled out of the restaurant with rounded bellies and climbed back into the truck. “Thank you for paying. You really didn’t have to,” I said to Daryl and I leaned over and gave him a kiss.

“Yea, man. That was really nice of ya. Thanks,” Rick commented and he reached around me and squeezed Daryl’s shoulder.

“Not a big deal,” Daryl shrugged, looking a little embarrassed at how grateful we were being. “Y’all ready to head back? We could always go get a drink someplace.”

“Oh! Let’s go to Mick’s Tavern, baby. Shoot some pool?” I looked to Rick with excited eyes. We hadn’t been there in months but it always fun when we went.

“Yea, that sounds good,” Rick agreed and he put the truck in gear as we heading west. Mick’s was just on the other side of the county line, but it was a pretty fun place so it was usually worth the drive. We pulled up about 20 minutes later to a mostly full parking lot. Heading inside, Daryl went to the bar to get us drinks while me and Rick scouted for an empty pool table.

I almost thought we’d have to wait until Rick spotted an empty one in the far back corner. Heading over, Rick set up the table while I sat on a tall barstool and watched. Daryl brought over beers and a shot for each of us and we clinked our tiny glasses together before throwing them back. “Alright,” I croaked out, “Who’s losing to me first?”

Rick took the bait and we played a game while Daryl watched. I lost the first game and I frowned at Daryl while he chalked up a cue to play Rick next. I gave him a brief kiss before walking back to the barstool and he looked a little taken aback, looking around the bar to see if anyone had noticed. Giggling, I walked over to Rick and gave him a quick kiss as well to show Daryl that tonight, I didn’t care who saw us. I was a little past the point of giving a damn as the alcohol started to buzz through my system.

When Rick lost the next game to Daryl, he laughed and threw his hands in the air. “Alright. I’m getting next round. Who wants one?” He looked to us and I shook my head at him.

“Nah, baby. Y’all go head. I’ll drive home tonight.” Now he was really grinning because it wasn’t too often that I was the designated driver and he also had a friend to drink with too. Wrapping me in his arms, he gave me a big smooch before heading over to the bar to get more. We continued to play for the next few hours, the men playing steadily worse and worse as they drank more and more. They were cracking jokes and teasing one another, eventually bent over laughing, hanging onto each other’s shoulders.

Just watching them together made me laugh, but Darlene’s words kept echoing around in my head. _Well, I wouldn’t call getting off to watching another man get head exactly straight._ I wonder if that had a ring of truth to it. I knew that Rick and Daryl had become good friends in the past few weeks, but I wasn’t sure if Rick wanted more than that. We’d joked around, but I had never outright asked him if that was something he would be interested in, much less if Daryl was interested as well.

But after reading that book of Darlene’s and then seeing them together now, the picture that I couldn’t fit together in my head suddenly seemed to fall in place. And that picture was hot. Thinking about them putting their pool cues down and getting close, their lips coming together, hands roaming over each other’s bodies. These thoughts alone were getting me all hot and bothered and I squeezed my legs together as I felt that little spark inside me come to life.

“Earth to baby….” I heard a voice say nearby and I snapped out of my daydream to find Rick’s hand about a foot away from my face.

“Huh? What?” I asked a little dumbfounded. I really must have zoned out.

“You ready?” Rick slurred slightly. “Our game’s ‘bout shot to hell. That last beer prolly did it…” and he looked to Daryl who just smirked and shook his head.

“I think it was probably two beers ago sweetie, but yea, we can go.” I threw my purse on my shoulder and grabbed the hand of each man. We walked out the bar linked together, only getting a couple curious looks as we made our way to the truck. Climbing in the driver’s side this time, Daryl was the one to get in the middle with Rick on the other end.

We chatted for a minute before the steady rhythm of the truck bouncing along the road lulled both men to sleep. Looking over, I saw Rick’s head had fallen on Daryl’s shoulder and his hand rested on the other man’s knee. Daryl’s own head leaned against Rick’s and while they looked a little silly, they also looked really sweet too.

Pulling into the driveway, I lightly tapped the chest of either man to wake them, but not before I took a quick picture of the two of them snoozing together in the truck and set it as the background on my phone. That was definitely one moment I didn’t want to ever forget. They woke up and yawned as we climbed out and headed inside.

While they threw themselves on the couch, I ran to the bathroom and then the kitchen to grab some more beers. When I came back to the living room, Rick was already shuffling the deck of cards and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “Oh jeez…what’re we playing?” Instead of sitting in between the two men, I went to the other side of the coffee table and sat down on the floor so I was facing them.

“Hmm…I don’t know. What you in the mood for, Daryl?” Rick asked the man sitting to his right, nudging him with his knee.

“You know me, man. Poker every time.” At Daryl’s request, I suddenly had an idea.

“Alright. We can do poker, but I wanna make it interesting. How about for each hand, whoever wins gets to ask a person of their choosing Truth or Dare?” I smiled mischievously and the two men across from me laughed hysterically.

“Okay, baby. If that’s what you want.” Rick dealt the cards quick enough and we played through the first hand in record time. Daryl won with two pair and he smirked mysteriously, quirking an eyebrow at me and Rick. After what seemed like a million years, he turned towards me.

“Alright, sexy. Truth or dare?”

I pretended to weigh the odds for half a millisecond before I answered, “Dare.”

“Hmmm…” Daryl thought, tapping his fingers against his chin. “Lose the dress.”

“Can I get a please?” I cocked an eyebrow at him. I liked demanding Daryl, but a girl had her limits.

Him and Rick chuckled and he bowed his head in apology. “Sorry. Will you please take off your dress?” he asked, over enunciating each word. Satisfied, I stood up and unzipped the back of my dress, sliding it off one shoulder, then the other. Pulling it downwards, I slipped it past my hips and down my legs, stepping out of it and tossing it to Daryl. The dress hit him square in the face because he was too caught up in watching me take it off.

Underneath, I was wearing a black, slightly lacy bra and panty set. Something that I rarely wore, but it clearly had the attention of the two men I was standing in front of. “Well, I think I’m done with cards…” Rick muttered and he went to stack them up.

“Uh-uh, mister. We aren’t done playing,” I chided. He frowned at me as I sat back down.

“You couldn’t have just told her to get naked?” Rick grumbled to Daryl.

“Shit...Can't expect me to do everything, man.” I laughed at their bickering while the next hand was dealt. While they put up a good fight, I ended up winning the hand and I smiled with glee.

“ Okay…” I whispered as I glanced from one man to the other, trying to decide who to pick. “Baby, truth or dare?”

Rick widened his eyes at being called out. I guess he assumed I would go for Daryl first. “Uh…truth?” he shrugged. I smiled because I knew he would pick truth. That man was far too predictable sometimes.

“Hmmm…have you ever…” I squinted my eyes as I thought of my phrasing. “thought about being with a guy?”

Now both men looked surprised and Rick blushed a little as he contemplated an answer. “What? What kind of question is that? No more books from Darlene,” he chuckled halfheartedly.

“What books?” Daryl asked, taking a sip of his beer.

“Darlene gave her this romance with…two guys in it. Doing all kinds of stuff in the bed of a truck.” My eyebrows shot up because that was actually a scene from the book, which meant Rick must have glanced through it and at the very least read that one scene. Before I could call him out though, Daryl piped up.

“Hmmm. Still didn’t answer the question though.” He took another gulp of his beer and picked up the cards, his focus on shuffling them just right.

Rick sighed and ran a hand through is hair. “God…I don’t know. Maybe.” His entire body was flushed a bright pink now and I couldn’t help but chuckle as his frustrated tone. He clammed up after that and I didn’t bother to pursue him any further, in fear of making him too annoyed to keep playing.

I ended up winning the next hand as well and the guys groaned at my luck. Not bothering to wipe the grin from my face, I turned to Daryl and asked him the question. He thought for a second and sighed as he mumbled, “Truth, I guess.”

“Okay…why were you worried about showing your drawings to Rick?” I was sure these two hadn’t bothered to talk about this yet and knowing them, they would keep hemming and hawing around the subject until I brought it up.

Daryl groaned and rolled his eyes as he played with the stack of cards in his hands. “What? I couldn’t get the guys question like Rick?”

“Okay! Change of question then!” and I tried to hide the evil glint in my eyes. “Have you ever done anything with a man?”

“Hey! Now that ain’t the same question. You asked Rick if he’d thought about being with a guy!”

“I never said I’d ask you the same question. Now I’ve asked you two questions, pick one or the other. Please…sir.” Daryl gave me a look that was a mixture of lust and contempt. I’d asked him two questions that he didn’t want to answer but I’d said please and called him sir, something that I remembered him liking from our romp in front of the windows.

“Fine…the answer is…yes.” Daryl looked down at the cards in his hands, his hair falling down in front of his face so I couldn’t quite make out his expression.

“Yes…as in yes, you’ve been with a man before?” My curiosity was piqued now. I had actually been wondering this ever since the first time we’d had sex. He had said that he’d been with people in the past, not women and it made me think about what that meant. But I’d never really had the guts to ask him since that night. Glancing to Rick, his eyes told me was intrigued as well but he tried to play it off as nonchalant while he drank his beer.

“Yea…when I was younger. Just a couple guys. Guess you could say it was…experimentin' or whatever. Wasn’t bad or nothin’…” Daryl looked up at me and then towards Rick to gauge our reactions. I tried to play myself off as noncommittal but really I was extremely interested and wanted to ask him a million more questions.

“So…you just prefer women then?” I asked, tapping my fingers on my beer bottle.

“Nuh-uh…you got your question. Time to deal,” Daryl said and he winked at me while I scoffed and stuck my tongue out at him. We played the next hand and Rick ended up winning. I held my breath as he debated on who to ask the question to. Finally he turned to Daryl and asked him. Daryl groaned again and looked up to the ceiling, probably cursing his luck tonight. He ended up picking Truth and I think he figured Rick would go easy on him.

“So, why didn’t you want to show me your drawings?” Daryl’s eyes widened as he took a sip of his beer. Rick tilted his head slightly as he waited for the other man’s answer.

Daryl clapped his hand together nervously as he thought of an answer. “It’s not…not that I didn’t want to show them to you. I was worried I guess.”

“Worried about what?” I almost called Rick out on asking a second question, but his eyes were so sincere and I also wanted to see where this conversation went.

“I don’t know, man. ‘Cause I had drawn you both…and I didn’t know how’d you feel ‘bout it.”

“But I liked ‘em. You don’t need to be worried about anything, Daryl. Remember, this is all three of us,” and Rick motioned from his body, to mine, then to Daryl’s. “It’s not you and Beth and then me and Beth. It’s Beth, Rick and Daryl.” He patted a hand on Daryl’s knee and I watched Daryl smirk a little and blush.

“Alright, alright. No more worrying…” Daryl mumbled, bumping his shoulder into Rick and nudging him with his elbow a little.

“Good,” Rick said and he shuffled the cards again, dealing them on the coffee table for the next round. I couldn’t help but smile at the interaction they'd just had and when Daryl saw the glee on my face, he rolled his eyes and gave me the finger. Instead of giving it back to him, I ran my tongue across my top lip and gave him a wink, only getting raised eyebrows and dark, lust filled eyes in return.

The next hand was close but Daryl beat my two pair with a full house and I pouted when he turned his cards over. Both men chuckled at my reaction, but Daryl didn’t even hesitate to look to Rick and ask him, “Truth or Dare?”

“Oh god. Why didn’t you pick her? She could have been naked by now and we'd be doing God knows what!” Rick cried out.

“Oh, you hush and answer the man!” I said to Rick, grabbing his beer and drinking the last of it as punishment.

“Fine…I’ll be a wuss. Truth.” He threw his hands in the air and sighed.

Daryl downed the last of his beer and contemplated a question for a full minute before he finally asked, “You ever been with a guy?”

Rick had leaned back against the couch, his chin against his chest as he waited for Daryl to think of a question. As soon as he heard Daryl’s words though, he sat right up and looked completely dumbfounded. “What? I already answered that,” and he pointed at me.

“Nah, you said you’d MAYBE thought about it. Different question,” Daryl replied calmly. I sat there watching the two men with my chin resting on my hand, fascinated by this interaction. It made me want to chuckle a little but I didn’t want to risk breaking into their exchange.

“Well...ain’t the obvious answer no? If I’ve thought about it, don’t that mean I haven’t done it?” Rick’s face was a bright shade of pink now and he was starting to get a little flustered.

“Not really…So have you?” Daryl asked again.

“NO! I haven’t!” Rick let loose in an exasperated, loud voice. He leaned back against the couch and huffed out a deep breath, crossing his arms and looking away from both Daryl and myself.

“But you want to? Since you’ve thought about it and all?” Daryl questioned again in his sexy, low voice.

“I don’t know, man.” Rick’s answer was short and to the point, making it clear he was done with answering any more questions. I went to grab the cards to shuffle them, but Daryl placed his hand on mine to stop me, glancing at me quickly and shaking his head slightly.

“Truth or dare, Rick?” Daryl asked quietly. Rick’s brow furrowed and he glanced at me and then at Daryl, confusion written clearly across his face.

“What? We ain’t even played…” he said, pointing to the stack of cards.

“I know. Truth or dare?”

Rick let out a slow sigh and bit his lip, like he wasn’t sure what to do. “Dare…” he finally mumbled.

“I dare you to kiss me…” Daryl whispered. My heart felt like it was about to pound out of my chest as soon as I heard Daryl’s words. Rick sighed and shook his head, like he almost knew that Daryl was going to say that.

“I can’t do that,” Rick replied, fidgeting with his hands nervously.

“Why not? Only a kiss…” was Daryl’s response.

Rick shrugged and looked to me, his eyes filled with a mixture of apprehension and worry. “Beth?” he asked, his face asking for approval.

I gave him a reassuring smile and lifted my shoulders. “A dare’s a dare, baby. It is only a kiss…but you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.” I made sure to add the part on the end so Rick didn’t feel pressured into anything, but I could see his mind ticking away behind his eyes.

Rick nodded and looked down at his hands for a second before turning and bringing his eyes up to Daryl’s. They looked at each other for a brief second before they slowly leaned into one another. I watched in awe as their heads got closer and closer, both men slowly closing their eyes as the space between their mouths got smaller and smaller. Holding my breath, their heads turned slightly as their lips connected and I truly felt like my entire body had been set aflame. 


	24. Chapter 24

The air felt like it had been sucked completely out of the room as Rick and Daryl’s lips touched for the first time. I leaned on the coffee table trying to keep my mouth from hitting the floor as I watched their very first kiss. As soon as their soft lips touched one another, everything around me almost got hazy as I my heartbeat tripled its pace and a strong wave of lust crashed over me.

Rick and Daryl kissed slowly, lightly brushing their lips against one another. They kept their mouths closed and their hands at their sides as they tested the waters of this new territory. Noses touching gently, Rick turned his head the other way and they kissed again. Pulling away slowly, Rick opened his eyes at the same time as Daryl and then they both looked over at me, smiles breaking out across their faces.

“Damn, baby. Think you were watching hard enough?” Rick asked, chuckling.

I furrowed my brows and looked down only to realize I had practically leaned all the way across the coffee table, weight on my elbows as my hands grasped the edge of the other side. I was practically laying on it, playing cards strewn about the floor and table. I blushed in embarrassment and tried to look away.

“Eyes as big as saucers…think she liked what she saw?” Daryl asked, looking back to the man next to him.

“Oh yea. Bet she’s so wet she can hardly stand it,” Rick answered, a sexy glint shimmering in his eyes.

“Come over here, sexy,” and Daryl held out an empty hand. Smiling with excitement, I grabbed it and walked around the coffee table, settling back on my knees in front of the two men on the couch. Daryl brought a hand to the side of my face and leaned down, bringing our lips together. My body hummed with pleasure as we kissed and I ran my hands through his thick, shaggy hair.

When he pulled back, he tilted my chin towards Rick and now it was Rick’s turn to kiss me. His lips felt pillowy soft against mine, his kiss always slightly softer than Daryl’s. The tips of our tongues tickled one another and I brought my right hand up to caress his head of dark curls. A second later I felt a hand brush past me, only to pull Rick away from my lips. When I opened my eyes, I saw Daryl pulling Rick’s face back towards him and he brought their mouths together once more.

Rick smiled sheepishly and blushed as they connected again. This kiss was a little more intense and I felt myself darken with desire as I watched their mouths open and tongues dart out to taste one another. Biting my lip, I squeezed my legs together and ran my hands up and down the thighs of either man, watching and waiting as they reveled in a new experience together. When they pulled apart, Daryl came to me again and we basically played a game as we went in circles kissing one another.

As I watched them kiss again, my hands roamed freely, slipping under shirts to graze bare skin and sliding over erections pressed firmly against the denim of their jeans. Finally, I couldn’t stand it anymore and went to the hem of Rick’s shirt and lifted it up. The two men broke apart and Rick lifted his arms as I tossed his shirt away. Running my hands down his sexy chest and stomach, I reached his belt and quickly undid it. Unbuttoning his pants, I pulled them down along with his underwear and his erection bobbed free, standing at attention for me and Daryl.

Rick flushed at being the only one naked and he turned to Daryl, pulling at the hem of his shirt indicating for him to take it off. Daryl smirked and yanked his shirt off so his chest was bare as well. Kissing my way down Rick’s chest and stomach, I stopped right at his hard cock and looked up. Both men were watching me with anticipation and I smiled devilishly at them. “Keep going up there. I’ll make myself busy down here,” and I gave them a wink.

They smiled at me and turned back to one another, bringing their lips together again. I could tell Rick was slowly getting more comfortable because he started to cup Daryl’s face as they kissed and ran a hand up and down the other man’s bicep. Daryl fingers slid across Rick’s stomach and gripped his waist, holding their bodies tightly together. While they explored, I brought my hand to Rick’s hard length and started to stroke him.

I heard him sigh blissfully into Daryl’s mouth, always a good sign, and decided to add my lips to the mix. Wrapping them just around the head of his cock, I swirled my wet tongue all around while my hand ran up and down his shaft. Wanting to torture him a little, I flicked the tip of my tongue along the underside of his head and I felt his hips lift a little as a moan escaped his throat.

Flicking my eyes upward, I continued to pleasure him as I watched Daryl break away from Rick’s mouth and work his way to Rick’s neck. Rick leaned his head back and I saw his eyes roll to the back of his head as Daryl placed gentle kisses into his sensitive flesh. Daryl’s hands glided over Rick’s stomach and chest, stopping occasionally to tweak one of Rick’s nipples which made Rick jump ever so slightly.

Rick’s face looked like he was in pure heaven and I felt just as happy as he did because we were spoiling him just as much as Rick and Daryl had spoiled me these past few weeks. Bringing my eyes back down, I decided to focus on the task at hand and bobbed my head lower onto Rick until I took him almost fully into my mouth. Rick groaned and ran his hands through my hair, tugging ever so slightly and encouraging me to keep going.

I continued to run my tongue up and down his length for a few minutes while Daryl planted kisses and nibbles along his neck, being careful enough not to leave a mark. Then he brought his mouth down to one of Rick’s nipples and teased it with his tongue. “Oh fuck…y’all are killing me…” Rick growled out.

With that, I got an idea and pulled my mouth off his thick length. He was still sitting a little high on the couch, so I wrapped my hands behind his knees and yanked him down a few inches, bringing his lower half closer to me. Rick gave me a curious look and while I stroked his cock with my left hand, I stuck two fingers in my mouth and got them nice and wet. Daryl lifted his head and watched me as well, a look of intrigue written across his face. Once my fingers were slick, I brought my mouth back to Rick’s stiffness and while I licked at the head, I gently brought my fingers to his back entrance and slowly slipped one into him.

Rick gripped the couch cushion beneath him and arched his back a little, pushing Daryl up as well who was still leaning on top of Rick’s torso. “Fuck, baby…” Rick bit out through his gritted teeth. Flicking my eyes upward, I saw Rick’s head was thrown back as he got lost in the sensation of it all but Daryl watched me closely with interested, lusty eyes.

As I slipped the second finger in, Rick groaned even louder and Daryl licked his lips while he watched me intently. Rick slid a hand up Daryl’s bare back and gripped his shoulder tight, turning the hunter’s attention back to him. As Daryl went back to kissing and caressing Rick I started to pick up my pace.

Working my mouth and hand in tandem, I felt Rick getting harder and harder against my tongue and I worked my fingers just so, making sure I was hitting him in the right place. Rick started to pant and he gripped at Daryl’s sides, hugging the man close to him as he neared his peak. Leaning into Rick’s ear, Daryl whispered, “You gonna come? Gonna shoot into that pretty little mouth suckin’ you off?” Rick moaned loudly at Daryl’s dirty talk and nodded vigorously.

“Oh God…I’m gonna come…Oh, fuck…Kiss me, Daryl,” Rick begged in a ragged voice. Daryl brought his lips straight to Rick’s mouth and they held onto each other for dear life as I felt Rick start to spill into the back of my throat. Hearing Rick groan deeply into Daryl’s mouth, I looked up and saw him gripping the hunter’s biceps as his orgasm wracked his body.

I swallowed every drop that Rick spilled and slowly pulled my mouth away from him while gently removing my hand as well. Daryl broke their kiss and Rick fell back against the couch in one big, exhausted, completely blissed out of his mind heap. He wore a silly smile on his swollen pink lips and his hair was a complete mess from Daryl running his hands through it.

Sitting back on my heels, I ran my hands soothingly along his thighs and gave him a smile. Knowing that me and Daryl had made him feel this way made me happier than I could explain. “Stand up for me, sexy,” I heard a voice say and I looked to Daryl who held out an empty hand once again. Looking into his eyes, I could tell that while we had taken care of Rick, we both still had hunger that we needed to satisfy.

Taking his hand, I stood up in front of him and he ran his hands up and down my barely covered body. Stopping at my bra, he quickly undid it and slipped it from my arms. Then he ran his hands down my sides and once he got to my hips, he hooked his thumbs into the waistband of my panties and slowly dragged them down to my ankles. I stepped out of them and he brought his hands to the inside of my legs and slowly traced his fingers upward. The higher he got, the more turned on I felt myself get and I was already pretty wound up.

Once he got to where my thighs met, he traced one finger across my slit and he let out a low groan. “Fuck…you’re so wet…it was practically runnin’ down your thighs. Watchin’ us together do this to you?” he asked in a low whisper. His sexy voice sent a chill up my spine and I blushed a little in embarrassment, but I nodded my head yes.

Rick seemed to have recovered some and he leaned forward and ran his hand next to Daryl’s to see for himself. “Damn, baby. Ain’t seen you this wet since the first night I fucked you. You liked seeing us together that much?” Looking down and biting my lip, I nodded again. Glancing up, I saw both men had small smiles on their faces and they look towards one another.

Daryl leaned back and unbuttoned his pants, pushing them past his hips and kicking them off his legs. His own erection stood up proudly from his hips and I felt a familiar ache between my legs as I thought about him filling me. Daryl grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him, leaning back as I straddled his legs and centered myself over him.

He held his cock at the base with one hand and guided my hips down with the other until I felt him right at my entrance. Slowly I slid down onto him until he was fully seated inside of me. I felt my heart skip a beat as I held my breath, my hands squeezing his shoulders tight as I adjusted to his size. Groaning, I fell forward until my forehead landed on his chest and I felt the vibrations of his chuckling radiate through his body and into mine.

“You okay?” he asked, running a hand soothingly over my back.

Nodding against him, I sighed. “Yea…you just feel so good.” I felt him turn his head and I was sure that him and Rick were sharing smiles at my expense.

“You feel good, too,” he whispered in my ear, running a hand through my hair. “You and Rick both. How come you never told me he kissed so good?”

His words made me smile and when I pushed up off his chest, I met his and Rick’s grinning faces. “Well, you never asked. But I can tell you about all the other good things he does with his mouth…” Rick laughed and rolled his eyes, but Daryl just kept smiling and I felt his hips push against me.

Taking his hint, I raised my hips and lowered them again, giving them a slight roll that wiped the smile from Daryl’s face as his arousal took over. While he ran his hands over my body, I started to ride him at a slow, but steady pace. Daryl squeezed my ass and encouraged me to go faster and as I picked up speed, my breathe started to get ragged and every time I lowered my hips, I couldn’t help but moan.

“Mmm…fuck…yea, ride me just like that, sexy…” Daryl grunted.

“Yes…sir…” I managed to get out as I worked my hips faster and faster. Daryl looked up at me and bit his lip, huffing out a breath at my words. His face looked like he wanted to throw me on the couch and fuck me as hard he could, but instead all he did was grip me tighter and give me a light smack on my ass. Rick’s hands roamed over my body and eventually made their way down to my sensitive clit where he started to run two fingers back and forth in quick succession.

Throwing my head back at the extra sensation, I knew that it wouldn’t be long until I came undone but I knew I wanted to watch my two men together as I peaked. Looking back down, I brought my hand to Rick’s chin and turned him towards Daryl. Rick gave me his knowing smile and he got closer to Daryl. Daryl seemed to sense him and he turned his attention from me to Rick, bringing their mouths together in a fiery kiss.

While I watched them fight for control with their tongues lapping at one another, Rick’s hand never eased up and after only a few seconds I cried out as my orgasm broke over me. The orgasm was so intense, I only managed to whimper out a few sounds as I doubled over and fell onto Daryl’s chest again. Rick pulled his hand away and ran it along my back as him and Daryl continued to kiss while the hunter kept thrusting into me until he got his own release.

Gripping my ass, he pumped into me and moaned into Rick’s mouth until his pleasure subsided. Rick leaned his head against Daryl’s shoulder and rubbed my back while I tried to catch my breath and let my heartbeat return to normal. Slowly lifting myself up, I leaned back and looked at my two men. They both looked exhausted but utterly content as they leaned their heads against one another and looked up at me.

Suddenly, I felt an overwhelming emotion that I couldn’t quite explain and without being able to control it, my eyes welled up and I felt tears start to slide down my face. Both Rick and Daryl took on concerned, worried looks as they leaned forward and wrapped their arms around me.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“You okay?” They both asked questions at the same time and I managed to get out a quick laugh between my tears.

“I’m…I’m fine,” I stuttered, hiccupping slightly. Wiping at my face, I tried to get control of myself. “These aren’t sad tears.” In fact, these were happy tears. Happy because I knew that this was one of the best decisions me and Rick could have ever made and I couldn’t believe I ever questioned bringing Daryl into our relationship. Happy because I knew how I felt about Daryl. I knew I was falling in love with him.

“You sure?” Daryl asked, face still full of concern. Rick still looked slightly worried himself. I nodded and laughed again, wiping away the last of the wetness from my cheeks.

“Yes, I’m sure. They’re happy tears. Because I’m with the two best men in the world.” Both men’s eyes softened and we embraced again, our arms a tangled mess as we three held each other as tight as we possibly could. I felt incredibly tired and I knew Rick and Daryl both felt the same. Standing up on shaky legs, we gathered our clothes that we had cast aside and walked upstairs to the bedroom.

Climbing in bed, I scooted in the middle as Rick and Daryl got in on the sides. Coming in close, we laid like little spoons again, but this time Daryl’s arm reached all the way across to Rick and laid on his side. Rick held tightly to both our hands and we fell into a peaceful sleep.


	25. Chapter 25

Waking the next morning, I groaned when I glanced at the clock and realized it was already after eight. Church services started at 9:30 and I knew I needed to get a move on if I wanted to be on time. But when I looked left and right, Rick and Daryl looked so peaceful in their sleep and I felt so content lying in between these two amazing men, I just couldn’t bring myself to leave our warm bed quite yet.

Giving a kiss on the cheek to either man, I gently tickled their hands until their eyelids fluttered open. “What? It’s early…” Rick groaned into his pillow, stretching his body before wrapping his arms my waist and burying his face into my neck. Daryl grumbled as well and turned to face the two of us, leaning towards me and placing a quick good morning peck to my lips.

“I have to get up soon for church. But I want a morning cuddle.” I felt Rick chuckle into my neck and Daryl gave me a small smirk as well.

“Cuddle, huh?” Daryl asked. He scooted in closer to me and slid an arm across my torso, reaching over to Rick and dragging all three of us tightly together. He wove his legs in with mine and then Rick added his as wells until our limbs were such a tangled mess that you couldn’t tell whose were whose. I sighed in utter bliss and we laid in silence for a few more minutes as images of last night floated through my head.

I thought of Daryl’s answer to my question, the fact that he had been with men before and I was still curious about his past. “So why didn’t you tell me…about being with guys before?” I asked Daryl quietly, searching his eyes as I spoke.

“You never asked,” he replied, tracing circles into the pale skin on my shoulder.

Chuckling, I swatted his arm and he gave me a light bite in retaliation. “Well, now I am. Obviously I don’t care,” and I gestured to Rick who listened quietly, kissing my neck every now and again. “I’m just curious.”

“Well, what do ya wanna know?” He shifted his position and laid his hands on my belly with his chin resting on top of them. While he tried to focus on my face, I noticed that his eyes kept veering down to my breasts, watching the pink tips of my nipples harden in the cool morning air.

Covering my breasts with my hands to get his attention back to my face, I asked with a small blush, “How many?”

“Jus’ a couple.” He grabbed my hands and pulled them back down, wanting his view while we had our morning chat.

“Was it a long time ago?”

“Mmm…it’s been a few years. They were a few years apart too.” Now he laid his head on its side atop my belly while he brought his hands up to my breasts and slowly tweaked my nipples to stiff peaks. Rick chuckled while he watched.

“Did you…” and I let my voice trail off.

“Did I…?”

“Did you…have sex?”

Daryl smirked and brought a hand up to my questioning face, brushing a thumb against my flushed cheek. “Nah…never went that far. Jus’ fooled around, hands and mouths.”

“Did you want to?” I heard Rick’s voice ask next to me. I hadn’t expected him to say anything, figuring I was the only one who was really curious about this subject matter.

“Mmm…” Daryl said thoughtfully. “Not with them. They didn’t matter to me…” His words were quiet and he spoke looking down at my stomach, but when he finished, his eyes flicked up to Rick. Daryl’s expression was soft and he reached a hand up and laid it on top of Rick’s, his meaning clear. “Think I’ll go start the coffee.”

Sitting up, he leaned down and gave me a kiss, lightly nibbling my bottom lip until I giggled. When he pulled back, he looked at Rick who was still nestled in my neck. Bringing his mouth down, their lips touched lightly, almost in a questioning manner. Rick answered by cupping Daryl’s face and bringing him closer and I watched as their kiss deepened, mouths parting until their tongues licked at one another.

When they pulled away, Daryl was blushing and he stood from the bed, grabbing his jeans to tug on. He turned away but I still caught sight of his semi-erect cock and I couldn’t help but giggle at him. Rick squeezed me to him and I felt his own half stiff member brush against me and I laughed again because my men were insatiable and I loved them for it.

When Daryl walked downstairs, I turned on my side and faced Rick, wrapping my hands around his. “Hello.”

“Hello to you too,” he smiled.

“So, how are you doing…after last night?” I asked, running my hands through his messy hair.

He closed his eyes while he enjoyed the sensation of my fingers across his scalp before he replied. “I’m…I’m good. It was…nice. I liked it.” Glancing at me, he smiled and gave me a quick kiss. “What about you?”

“Oh, I loved it. But I think that goes without saying. Watching the two men who mean the most to me in the world together, it was almost more than I could take, but in a good way. I just want to be sure that it’s something that you want, not something that you’re doing because I want it…” I added the last part quietly and looked down at our clasped hands.

“Hey, don’t look so worried,” Rick replied. Bringing a hand up, he lifted my chin until our eyes met again. “I wanted it. Yea, I haven’t done anything like that before, but it was good. I want to do it again. Daryl’s a good kisser…” Rick pushed me on my back and leaned on top of me, nuzzling my neck and making me giggle.

Wrapping my legs around his waist, I relaxed into his beautiful mouth and we embraced for a minute before I looked over at the clock and saw that it was almost nine. Sighing, I turned to Rick and gave him a quick kiss. “Time to get up. I’m gonna be late.” Rick whined in protest but I wiggled out of his arms and grabbed some clothes for church.

Once I had thrown my hair into a bun and made myself look as presentable as I could within such a short amount of time, I went downstairs and found my men sipping coffee as they exchanged news pages. I grabbed the to-go mug that was sitting on the coffee table and leaned down to give them each a good bye kiss. “Alright, let me go get this over with.”

“Good luck, baby,” Rick said reassuringly.

“Go easy on the old man,” Daryl joked and I chuckled as I headed out the door. Pulling up to the church, I saw people filing in since the service was about to start. It looked like I wasn’t the only one running late this morning. As I walked up, I found Maggie standing out front, waiting on me. When she spotted me, her eyes brightened and we shared a quick hug.

“Hey! Thought you weren’t gonna make it,” she said with slightly worried eyes.

“Nah, just running late this morning.”

“Tangled up in the sheets?” she asked, raising her eyebrows in suggestion. I chuckled and shrugged my shoulders.

“Something like that.”

“Uh-huh. Well don’t worry. You’re not the only daughter he’s mad at now.” She rolled her eyes as we walked up the church steps hand in hand.

“What do you mean?” My brows furrowed in curiosity.

“Oh…I told Daddy that Glenn moved in with me last week.”

“Really!? Oh, that’s great!” Wrapping my arm around her shoulder, I gave her a quick half hug as we stepped inside. The pews looked mostly filled, but we saw our father sitting up front with empty spots on either side of him.

“Yea, now if only he could say that. Instead, he thinks he has two daughters living in sin…” she whispered in my ear as we walked down the center towards our seats. I caught a few people looking our way and figured we stuck out since we’d hadn’t been to church in quite some time. Quietly excusing ourselves, we walked past a few people as we sat down next to our father.

He looked over at me in the small pew and it was almost as if he knew I was late because I was laying in bed with two men. “You’re late…” he mumbled, giving me his disapproving eyes. Slipping my hand underneath his arm, I leaned over and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

“I know, I’m sorry,” I whispered. Mollified, he nodded his head and we tuned into the words of Pastor Williams. My ex-boyfriend Jimmy stood up at the pulpit with him and I felt a strange mixture of sadness and relief wash over me. Sadness because I missed how accepted I used to feel in this in church, it always felt like a second home. But relief as well because I knew this wasn’t a place I wanted to be anymore.

We listened to the Pastor speak on God but after awhile his sermon veered off and he went on about sin and living in sin for quite some time. Leaning back in the pew, I looked behind my father and met my sister’s eyes. It was almost like our father had talked to the Pastor beforehand and made a special request on behalf on his daughters. We restrained ourselves from rolling our eyes but we shared equally exasperated faces.

Sitting there for the next hour was almost torture and I kept thinking back to the days of when I use to enjoy this, when the Pastor’s words would uplift me. But now I only chewed on my lip as I waited for the minutes to tick by. When he was finally finished, we bowed our heads in prayer and after the final “Amen” was spoken, me and my sister jumped up, eager to leave. “Now wait a minute,” my father chided us both. “I wanna talk to Pastor Williams. That is if it’s alright with my keepers?”

The sarcastic tone in his question made me sigh as we trudged up to the front of the church and waited in line with the rest of the followers to speak briefly with their man of God. When we finally made it to the front, Pastor Williams smiled brightly at the three of us and held his arms out wide, almost as if he was welcoming us back into his flock. “The Greene Family! Always good to see your faces!”

His voice was sincere and I couldn’t help but smile at this man who had been my spiritual leader up until I was about sixteen. I held nothing against him personally, he was always a good listener whenever I needed guidance. I even spoke with him when I decided to leave the church. He held my hand and said he was sad to see me go and hoped that I would find my way back eventually but he knew that all people had their own spiritual path. I wish my own father had been that understanding.

“Pastor, your sermon was wonderful today,” my father smiled as he shook the man’s hand.

“Thank you, Hershel. I’m glad that you liked it. And I hope you ladies learned from it as well,” Pastor Williams said, glancing from myself to Maggie. His last sentence rubbed me the wrong way though and now I truly wondered if my father had indeed come to the Pastor for guidance. He kept chatting with my father for a minute before we had to move on so the next people in line could talk to him. “Maggie, always good to see you. Hershel, I’ll see you next Sunday. And my dear Beth. It’s been far too long. I do hope you consider coming back to us soon. The world is full of strife and tough decisions. Everyone always needs a little help from the Lord.”

I gave him a small smile and a nod, merely out of respect before walking out of the church behind my father and sister. My thoughts were ticking away and as we walked to the cars. I glanced around to see a few of the women in their Sunday best giving me glances behind their makeshift service pamphlet fans. “Come to the house for lunch?” my father asked me as we separated.

I nodded in agreement, still lost in thought from earlier, and followed Maggie’s car back to my father’s house. Walking inside, I made my way to the kitchen and smelled a delicious pot roast that Maggie had cooking in the crockpot. She must have started it last night because it was ready to eat. As we made our plates and sat down at the table, we bowed our heads in prayer and my father said grace.

“Dear Lord. Please bless this meal we are about to receive. Maggie slaved over it last night and it smells delicious.” I glanced up and saw Maggie’s face smiling over her steaming plate. “Please bless this family and help us through our troubled times. Please bless my two beautiful daughters. They make decisions that they know not the repercussions and I only want the best for them. Amen.”

We echoed the same “Amen” and when I looked up, me and my sister seemed to be feeling the same way about the end of that blessing. Why couldn’t our father understand that we were grown women who made decisions that were in our best interests? My mind wandered back to the sermon and Pastor Williams’ words afterwards. “Daddy, have you talked to the Pastor recently?”

“Hmmm…oh, I s’pose so. Why, sweetie?” he asked me in return. He held his face steady, but I knew the man well enough to know that when he tried to keep his face that even, he was usually hiding something.

“Because that sermon today…it sounded awfully…catered. Wouldn’t you agree, Maggie?” I turned to my sister and crossed my fingers in hope that she’d come to my aid.

“Mmm…it did tend to sound a little preachy on, ya know, living in sin. The kinda stuff you been talkin’ ‘bout to both of us these past couple days.” My sister gave me a surreptitious wink to let me know she had my back.

“Well…I may have talked to him yesterday afternoon about our familial issues. He was very supportive. Said he would do what he could to help and I think he did a fine job on that sermon today.” My father held his chin high, but his eyes were slightly downcast which told me that he knew what he did wasn’t exactly right.

“Daddy! Those are our problems and we’ll deal with them together,” I scolded. “You really think having him write an entire sermon in the purpose of teaching us a lesson is really going to change our way of thinking? Or are you just trying to shame us back into your good graces?” I felt my anger start to rise as I finished my plate. How could my father do something like that? I always thought that we could talk our problems out no matter what, but going to Pastor Williams to talk about his two wayward daughters was overstepping in more ways than one.

“Yea, Daddy. That’s not very nice. A good Christian is supposed to be accepting, not shaming. When it comes down to it, isn’t God the only one that’s allowed to judge?” Sighing at my sister’s words, my father wiped at his bright, white beard, trying to get the last of his lunch out.

“Now girls, don’t even try to be the ones to scold me. I’m the father here and I’ll talk to who I damn well please about whatever the hell I want. Pastor Williams is good man and he understood the conflict I’m having to deal with right now. There’s only so much praying I can do for either one of y’all.”

Maggie stood from the table with a firm frown etched across her face. She grabbed the dishes and started to rinse them off in the sink. “Hey Beth. You want some of this to take home to Rick and Daryl? There’s a ton left.”

“Yea, that’d be great, Sissy. Thanks,” I said with a smile. She grinned right back and grabbed some of my father’s Tupperware to fill for me. Looking over at my father, I watched him sigh in resignation with a slow shake of his head. Just the look on his face set a switch off inside of me and I couldn’t resist calling him out. “What?! What is so wrong that you have to shake your head at it?”

My tone caught him and Maggie off guard and they both looked at me with surprise. “Don’t you sass me, young lady. This is my house. Why do you have to put a dark cloud over such a nice morning?”

“Nice morning? Maybe for you, it was nice. All I heard at that sermon was hatefulness. And then what Pastor Williams said to me as we were leaving. _Everyone needs a little help from the Lord._ He talks as if I’ve turned my back on religion as a whole!”

“Well haven’t you?!” my father shot back. “You stopped coming to church as soon as Rick picked you up and moved you to his place. You lived with a man out of wedlock, done God knows what with him, and then up and invite another man into your home. Into your bed.” He added the last sentence with extra vehemence to his voice. “Can’t really say you’re living in the good graces of the Lord right now, can you?”

“What’s it matter? Just because I stopped going to church doesn’t make me some kind of heathen, Daddy. And I was thinking about leaving for a long time before I met Rick, he just helped me figure out a way to do it. Because I sure as hell wasn’t gonna get to stop going to church living under your roof! And yes, I lived in sin with Rick and I guess now I’m twice sinning with Daryl, but that shouldn’t make you think any less of me!”

“Oh, Bethy! It’s not what I think of you, darling. It’s what others will think of you! This entire conversation makes me realize how much growin’ up you still got to do, young lady.” My father shook his head again and this time I was the one sighing. Maggie looked at me with sympathetic eyes as she finished putting the leftovers away.

Getting up from the table, I walked to stand behind my father and wrapped an arm around his upper body, leaning my chin on his shoulder. “Daddy, I know you’re worried and I love you for it. But you gotta let me live my life. One day you’ll realize that I don’t care what other people think. I just want to be happy. And that’s only because that’s how you raised me to be.”

My father patted a hand on my arm and I saw his face crease in deep thought. “Well, you’re right about that sweetie. I just never want to see my daughters get hurt. And you don’t know hurt until you’ve had heartbreak and that’s the God’s honest truth, Bethy. Men’ll hurt ya six ways to Sunday.”

I kissed my father on the cheek and walked over to my sister. She handed me the bag of food and we held each other tight for a good minute before we broke apart. Saying brief “I love you’s” I walked to the kitchen doorway and turned around to look at my father. His mouth was set in a firm frown as he watched me go. “Just so you know, I’m in love with both of those men. That kind of love we use to talk about in the early mornings, sitting on the porch and sipping coffee. That love that you said was once in a lifetime. Well, I got lucky, because I found it twice.” With that, I walked out of my father’s house and headed back home to those very two men who held all my love.


	26. Chapter 26

The next week went by at a snail’s pace. I had to open the diner every day and I didn’t even get to see Darlene until Wednesday. When she came in, she had a worried look to her eye and she pulled me aside in between my coffee refills. “Hey! Long time, no see!” I said to her with a big smile.

“I know, sweetie. I’ve missed you too. But first, I heard something interesting at quilt bee on Sunday night…” She raised her eyebrows at me as she tucked her purse under the counter.

“Oh?” was all I could think to say because I had no clue what she was talking about.

“Mmm hmm. Apparently, Lisa Stover was out at Mick’s Tavern over the weekend and happened to see a local blond waitress feeling up on not just one, but two men…” she whispered, leaning in close to me.

“Feeling up? I wasn’t feeling up anyone. I may have kissed them though…” I mumbled, tapping a finger against my mouth as I tried to remember all the events from that night.

“Just as well. You know Lisa Stover, she’s got a mouth as busy as a hooker’s on payday.”

Groaning, I rubbed my fingers against my temples, trying to ward off a tension headache that I felt fast approaching. Lisa Stover went to my dad’s church. No wonder people were looking at me on Sunday; she must have ran her mouth all over town. Probably the same reason I caught a couple customers giving me the once over this week too.

“Oh, Lord. No wonder…” and I told Darlene about all the looks I’d been getting these past few days and how I tried to brush them off as nothing.

“Yep…sounds like your cats outta the bag, sweetie. What were you doing at church on Sunday anyways?” Darlene knew my plight with the church and I realized I completely forgot to tell her about my father catching me and Daryl. As I told her the story, her mouth dropped open and she leaned against the counter completely wrapped up in my words. “Oh my goodness…” she mumbled once I finished.

“Yep…” I sighed. Her eyes showed me all the sympathy that she felt but she pulled me into a hug anyway. Smiling into her embrace, I took a deep breath of her flowery scent that always made me happy. Then I saw Lee’s car pull into the diner parking lot, so we both split up and made ourselves busy to avoid his wrath. I finished my shift and counted up my measly tips with a deep sigh. I'd made just as little the past two days and it made me wonder if Lisa Stover’s mouth was affecting more than just my reputation.

I ran a few errands around town before heading to the house, pulling in at the usual time the guys came home. Rick’s truck was sitting in the driveway, but Daryl’s bike wasn’t here yet. After parking in the garage, I made my way inside and put away the few groceries I had grabbed. Heading for the living room, I found Rick sprawled out on the couch, flipping through TV channels. I kicked my shoes off and ended up laying down on top of him, curling up in his side.

“Hey baby. How was work?” he asked absentmindedly.

“Bad. Hardly made a thing. And Darlene told me that a woman from church saw us at Mick’s Tavern, saw me kissing on you and Daryl and now I think she’s running all over town telling people.” Rick turned the TV off and sat the remote down, turning his full attention toward me.

“What? Who’s she telling?”

“I think the question’s more like who’s she not telling? I got some weird looks at church and I just chalked it up to not being there for so long. But now I think it was from her telling people what she saw. And then the past few days at work, customers haven’t been…as friendly, I guess. Bad tips and stuff. I just figured it was a bad week, but with what Darlene said…it can’t be a coincidence, could it?”

He stroked my back with his hand, trying to soothe my worries. “I don’t know, baby. I would hope that people wouldn’t be that ridiculous…but this is a small town in Georgia.” He sighed and pursed his lips in frustration.

“Has anyone said anything to you at work? Any of the guys?”

“No, I haven’t heard anything.” As much as I hated to think it, it made sense that Rick wouldn’t have any problems. In a situation like this, I would be seen as the whore and Rick and Daryl wouldn’t be seen as anything. Women were always much quicker to judge each other and sometimes I hated my gender for that. Leaning my head back against his chest, I sighed as a mix of emotions ran through me. I figured this was something that we were just going to have to ride out together.

Thinking about being together made me wonder where Daryl was at. “Hey, where’s Daryl? It’s a little late for him not to be home.”

“Oh, he went in late this morning, said he’ll have to stay late to make up the time. He should be home soon though.”

“Late?” I asked incredulously. “Why was he late? Did y’all get…caught up in something?” I raised my eyebrows suggestively and Rick laughed at me, blushing only a little.

“No, silly. He slept late. I got up for the shower and told him to get a move on. He must have fell back asleep because when I got out he was still there. When I woke him again, he shot outta bed and ran around like a crazy person. It was pretty funny, actually.” Rick smiled as he thought about this morning and I couldn’t help but give his gorgeous face a kiss.

Daryl had slept in our bed for the past few days and when I woke up, I would leave watching the two men snooze together. Usually they would be touching at least a little, whether their hands clasped or an arm was slung over a waist, it always made me happy though and I left in a good mood each morning. “Ya know…it’s okay if you want to…be with him when I’m not here,” I said nonchalantly, running my hand along Rick’s arm.

I felt Rick smile against my head as he placed a kiss in my hair. “I know, baby. It’s just…” His voice trailed off as he tried to think of a way to phrase his thoughts. “I don’t know. I think I’m nervous…”

Even though Rick and Daryl had taken that next step and kissed, they had done little more than that. When we’d had sex the past two days, they had still kept things “above the belt” and seemed to be taking it slow. I wasn’t even sure if they kissed when I wasn’t around. “Well, it’s okay to be nervous, baby. I think that’s pretty normal. Have y’all even kissed without me in the room?”

“Mmm…once or twice. Nothing too hot and heavy,” and he chuckled. “Really just a goodbye kiss in the mornings.”

I watched Rick’s face as he spoke and absentmindedly traced my finger along his strong features. Around his jawline, up around his forehead, down his nose and then finally around his beautiful lips. I could never get tired of looking at this beautiful man. A few minutes later, I got up and changed clothes, then grabbing the laundry basket, I headed to the kitchen and started separating the lights from the darks.

Hearing Daryl’s bike pull into the driveway a minute later, I waited for him to walk in the backdoor, giving him a bright smile when I saw his typical disheveled appearance. He always came home grimy from the garage and even when I wanted to hug and kiss on him, he would push me away until he had a chance to shower, claiming he didn’t want to dirty me up even if that’s what I wanted.

Giving me a light kiss, he asked about my day and I told him everything that I had told Rick. His eyes were a mix of frustration and anger after I finished. “Hey, don’t you worry. We’ll get through it together,” I added. Giving him a reassuring kiss, his eyes softened slightly and his mouth quirked up on one side.

“You mind washing these?” he asked, looking down at the pants he was wearing. “I like ‘em for work.”

“Sure. Give me your shirt too. I’ll toss both in.” With that, Daryl pulled his shirt off and tugged his pants down, standing in the kitchen completely naked while he handed the dirty clothes over. I couldn’t help the small blush that worked up my neck as I grabbed the clothes and gave him a quick once over. Damn, he looked good dirty.

As I sat the clothes down to add to the load, Rick walked into the kitchen and caught sight of a naked Daryl Dixon. “Oh…Did I interrupt something?” he teased, his eyes working over Daryl just as much as mine had.

“Oh hush. Just doing the laundry, silly. Shouldn’t you be starting on dinner? I do believe it’s your turn to cook tonight.” Grinning evilly at Rick, he gave me the finger and started grabbing miscellaneous food items from the fridge. Daryl chuckled at our banter and turned to head towards the bathroom. I noticed Rick's eyes dart over to Daryl more than once as the hunter walked away and I tried to hide the smile that played at my lips.

As I was tossing Daryl’s pants into the washer, I felt something in the pocket and pulled out his wallet. Why did men always leave important things in their pants? Sitting it down, I finished what I had started and grabbed the wallet again as I shut the laundry doors. Running my fingers over the dark brown, worn leather, I flipped it open and smiled at Daryl’s driver’s license photo. He looked like he had about twenty different kinds of attitude in the picture and his hair was just as shaggy as it was now.

Chuckling, I took a closer look at it and was surprised at what I found. “Hey!” I called over to Rick. He stopped what he was doing and walked over to look at what my eyes were trained on.

“What? His license?”

“Not just his license. Look at his birthday!” I stood there with a hand on my hip as my thumb sat underneath the numbers to show Rick where I wanted him to look.

“Hmmm…It’s this weekend…” he mumbled as he squinted his eyes to get a closer look.

“Yep! I can’t believe he didn’t tell us!” I tried not to be upset because I’m sure that Daryl didn’t want a big deal made of it but I still felt a little hurt that he hadn’t bothered to even give me a heads up.

“Oh Lord. I know that voice. Baby, don’t be mad. He probably doesn’t want to even do anything.”

“But…” I couldn’t hide the pout from my voice though as my mouth turned into a firm frown.

“But nothing. Go easy on the man. Promise?” Rick raised his eyebrows at me and leaned in to give me a quick kiss. His attempts to placate me didn’t work thought, and I tossed the wallet on the table.

“I promise nothing,” was my only reply and Rick groaned as he went back to prepping dinner. I walked upstairs and started to clean the bedroom. Our house had gone into a slight disarray over the past few days and I inwardly scolded myself for letting things get this messy. When I thought I heard the shower shut off, I finished up what I was doing and headed downstairs. As I walked to the kitchen, I heard Rick and Daryl’s voices mumbling lightly and I saw them standing close together as Rick chopped vegetables on the counter.

Daryl was still in just a towel from coming out of the shower, his wet hair combed back while he dripped water on the floor. Their backs were turned to me so I couldn’t help but eavesdrop for a second, leaning against the doorway and listening closely. “Better not burn these potatoes like last time…” I heard Daryl tease Rick.

Rick chuckled and nudged Daryl with his shoulder. “Hey, you still ate them didn’t you?”

“Yea…guess I like a lil’ burnt flavor.”

“Well I’ll be sure to make these just right then,” Rick replied sarcastically, turning to Daryl and giving him a wink. Daryl smirked right back and I saw his left hand reach up and rest on Rick’s lower back. He rubbed it in a small circle as Rick went back to chopping. Then he leaned in close and brought his lips to Rick’s neck, giving him a small kiss that I barely heard.

Rick stopped his knife work and he turned his head a little, giving Daryl better access. The hunter took the hint and he slid in behind Rick, wrapping his arms around Rick’s waist while his mouth lapped at the sensitive skin on his neck. I heard Rick sigh all the way from where I was standing and I had to put a hand over my mouth to keep myself from making any noise. I didn’t want to interrupt such a beautiful and intimate moment between my two loves.

“You’re making it awful hard to finish dinner,” Rick whispered.

“I can make alotta things hard…” Daryl replied and they both chuckled. Then the timer to the stove went off and their moment was over. Rick sighed as Daryl stepped away and I chose then to make my presence known.

“Daryl Dixon! You have some explaining to do…” I gave him a stern look and wagged my finger at him. He turned towards my voice with his eyebrows raised in worry, glancing to Rick for a rescue. Rick shook his head slightly at Daryl, trying to let him know that I wasn’t really mad, but I was quick to cut him off. “Uh-uh, Rick. Don’t think I’m gonna let him get off that easy.”

I walked over to the table and grabbed Daryl’s wallet. Stepping towards the hunter, I flipped it open to his license and pointed to the date in question. “Is there something you haven’t mentioned to me?”

“Mmm…found that, huh?” He gave me a sheepish grin and shrugged his shoulders.

I mustered up the best scowl I could managed and plopped the wallet into his hand. “Why didn’t you tell us your birthday was coming up?” He sighed and rolled his eyes, completely turning away from me like he couldn’t stand to look at my critical stare for one more second.

“I don’t know. Ain’t a big deal. Jus’ another day…”

“Hey…” my voice softened as I hugged him close to me, my face buried in his back. “It’s not just any other day. We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to, but I like birthdays. They’re special to me. I like to make them special for other people.”

“Yea, man. Every year, she gets up real early and decorates the whole house for my birthday. Makes me breakfast in bed. She even bakes a cake.” As Rick spoke, he stepped closer to both of us and ran a hand up and down Daryl’s bicep, turning his head down to meet Daryl’s downcast eyes. “C’mon. Birthday sex alone is worth the celebrating.”

All three of us laughed at that and the mood seemed to lighten a little. “Let me think ‘bout it…” Daryl mumbled. Turning around, he gave my lips a light kiss and headed out to the garage to change into something decent. While I grabbed plates to set the table, Rick gave me his own stern look.

“You didn’t have to be so hard on him. You see his face? He thought he actually did something wrong. And just how long were you standing in that doorway, missy?” Rick asked in a chiding manner.

“Long enough, Mr. Burnt Potatoes.” Giving him a wink, I grabbed the silverware while his face went up in flames. Once everything was ready and Daryl came back from the garage, we sat down to dinner and Rick thankfully didn’t burn the potatoes. We chatted a bit while we ate, Rick regaling us with his latest story from the exciting life of a state trooper. Daryl talked a bit about the garage but once he was finished we sat in silence for a minute.

“Alright...” Daryl said quietly, quiet enough that I almost thought I hadn’t heard him. “But no cake. I don’t like sweets.” When I realized he was talking about his birthday, I got excited enough to jump up and wrap my arms around him, giving him a big smooch on the cheek. “No presents neither.”

“What? No presents?! But it’s your birthday, sweetie!” I cried out indignantly.

“Beth…C’mon now. Twenty minutes ago, he didn’t even want to celebrate it. If the man says no presents, then no presents. Alright?” Rick’s tone was firm and I knew he was trying to make sure that we did this Daryl’s way.

“Okay…” I sighed, sitting back down. “Then what do you want to do? No cake, no presents. How do you want to celebrate?”

“Mmm…don’t know. Maybe get out the house, walk by the lake or somethin’.” Daryl shrugged his shoulders and I quietly ate as I thought about his proposal. I’d like to get out of the house too, but the lake really wasn’t that far. I knew that Daryl was a bit of an outdoorsman and I wondered if us being cooped up inside all the time ever got to him. Suddenly I had a thought of the campground my father use to take me and Maggie to every summer.

I hadn’t been in a good long while, probably four years. The last time my father took us was on the last spring break I had in high school. But I knew the campground was still a popular spot because people always talked about it. It was the typical vacation spot to get out of town when all the tourists came here for the lake.

“Hey, I think I might have an idea. Have you ever been to Gliding Rock?” I asked my question to both men and they shook their heads in answer. “It’s one of the state parks like an hour or so away. Tons of trees and rivers and streams and hiking. They have a really nice campground too. Daddy use to take me and Maggie every year until I graduated high school. But it’s pretty fun and outdoorsy. I have Saturday off this weekend and if I talk to Darlene I might be able to get her to cover my Sunday shift. We could go camping this weekend!”

I smiled triumphantly and held my breath as I waited for responses. “Well, I do still have that tent…” Rick said offhandedly. That was his version of a yes so I turned towards Daryl and waited for his answer.

He waited a full minute, probably just to torture me, before he smirked and said, “Yea, we can do that.”

“Yay!” I shouted, clapping my hand together and doing a little dance in my chair. Both of the men chuckled at me but I just ignored them. We had a weekend trip to plan and I started making a list in my head of everything that we needed to do.

“Uh-oh, Daryl. I know that look. She’s making plans. Better make yourself scarce or she’ll be asking you to do a million different things.” I stuck my tongue out at Rick’s obvious tease and got up from the table to grab a notepad and pen. I started writing out various things while the men cleaned the kitchen together. I called Darlene and she thankfully took my Sunday shift, telling me with a sly voice that I’d better make this weekend something to remember and that she demanded a full report when I got back.

Giggling, I hung up with her and while the men reclined on the sofa, I started gathering all different kinds of things for the trip and stacking them on the kitchen table. Once I finished with that, I made Rick and Daryl their own to-do lists and walked to the living room to give it to each of them. I stopped short though when I walked into the living room and found them making out on the couch.

They sat next to one another in the middle of the sofa while their lips connected in a fiery hot kiss. Daryl’s hands grasped both sides of Rick’s face while Rick had his arms wrapped around Daryl’s shoulders. I watched as hair got mussed and shirts were yanked at, hands slipping underneath so fingers could ghost across bare skin.

As I watched them go at it, it was almost like furnace had been turned on high inside of me because my body was completely aflame with desire. Standing there with my mouth half open, I actually forgot about the pen in my hand and it dropped to the floor, tittering across the hardwood. The sound broke Rick and Daryl out of their reverie and they both turned to look at me, dark lust burning in their eyes.

Daryl reached a hand out to me, indicating for me to join them but I was tempted to tell him no. Tonight, I almost wanted to observe more than participate. “Oh…it’s okay. I was…” before I could finish, Daryl cut me off.

“Get over here.” He used his demanding tone in a low growl of a voice and I felt a shiver work its way up my spine as dampness pooled between my legs.

“Yes, sir,” I replied, taking his hand and walking over to my men. I was abruptly pulled down in between them and suddenly we were a mess of hot mouths, all aching to touch and taste every inch of each other’s bare flesh. Clothes were shed quickly, tossed to the floor, and our sweaty bodies writhed against one another.

I gripped the hard, stiff lengths of both men, one in each hand and stroked them in time. While I worked them both, they didn’t waste any time with me, one slipping a hand into my wetness from behind and the other playing with my clit from the front. We were all one big, sweaty, messy ball of passion, to the point where I wasn’t always able to tell whose lips and hands were whose.

“What do you want?” I heard Rick ask and I knew he was talking to Daryl.

“Mmm…Think I need that sexy lil’ mouth tonight,” Daryl mumbled before claiming my lips with his own. Rick didn’t even hesitate as he turned me around to face Daryl who sat with his back against the armrest of the couch.

“You ready, baby?” Rick asked with hot breath next to my ear. I nodded  and leaned down, knowing that he wanted me like this, on my hands and knees while I took Daryl in my mouth, just like the first night we were all together. He gripped my hips tight as he lined himself up and slid into me. I groaned deeply and leaned my forehead against Daryl’s stomach as I adjusted to Rick sizable cock.

Daryl ran his hands through my hair and across my back as Rick pulled out of me and pushed right back in. While Rick started to slowly fuck me from behind, I brought my head up and licked my lips as I circled my fingers around the base of Daryl’s cock and slid my mouth down onto it. I heard him sigh and out of the corner of my eye, I saw him lean his head back and grip the sofa cushion beneath him.

As Rick steadily built his pace, so did I, matching each thrust of his hips in time with the movement of my mouth. While Rick pushed harder, I felt my own orgasm building and I grabbed his hand that was firmly planted on my hip and pulled it towards my center. He readjusted his position slightly so he could pleasure me both ways, and while everything I felt intensified, I tried to focus on pleasing Daryl as well.

His cock only got stiffer in my mouth, but I kept losing focus from all the sensations that were sweeping over me from Rick. Daryl grunted and wove his fingers through my hair, holding tight. “Fuck… sexy. Almost there…Can I do somethin’?” I gave him an almost imperceptible nod and his hold in my hair got even tighter as he started to jerk his hips up and down, fucking my mouth in rapid succession. “Oh god…oh yea…fuck!” he grunted, pulling out at the last second and I used my hand to finish him off. He tossed his head back, his face lost in ecstasy as he spilled onto my fingers and his stomach.

Seeing him come undone lit a fire under Rick and he pushed his forehead into my back as he fucked me fast and deep, rubbing two fingers over my clit and sending me over my own peak. I cried out and dug my head into Daryl’s hip as my orgasm rushed through me. Rick followed close behind me, squeezing me tight as his pleasure washed over him.

Once we caught our breath, I gave each man a light kiss and chuckled. “Ya know, I was happy to just watch tonight…”

“Well, we weren’t,” Rick replied, giving me a wink. After we all got cleaned up, we grabbed our clothes that had once again been tossed aside and headed upstairs to the bed that we shared.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Writer's block and then life, ya know? Enjoy. :)

Friday finally rolled around and when I got home in the early afternoon, I gathered all the things that we had packed and sat them on the porch for the boys to load up when they pulled in. Sitting on the porch swing once I finished, I tried to forget about this whole week at work. Lee was on my back the entire time and my tips almost made it not even worth going in. I kept catching people glancing at me and the rumors going around plagued my worried thoughts.

I tried to brush these feelings away though and look forward to our weekend together. Getting out of the house would be a good thing and getting out of town would be even better. When the guys finally got home, I ran out to meet them in the driveway, giving each of them a big, wet kiss. I tried to control my excitement but I couldn’t help it, practically bouncing with eagerness.

“I think someone’s ready to go,” Rick said to Daryl and they smiled at each other. They started loading up the truck and I tried to help as best as I could, but really they were much better at the heavy lifting. Once things were loaded, Rick headed inside for the bathroom and I stood at the back of the truck with Daryl, absentmindedly tickling the back of his hand.

He smirked at me and ended up lifting me onto the back of the truck and standing in between my knees while he placed a sweet kiss to my mouth. “Thank you for this weekend,” he mumbled when he pulled away.

“Don’t thank me yet. It hasn’t even started.” He laughed and rolled his eyes, giving my ponytail a light tug. Sticking my tongue out at him, I turned back to the house and groaned in a slightly whiny voice. “What’s taking that man so long? I swear...men and the bathroom...”

Daryl scoffed and gave my neck a light tickle. “Aw, give the poor guy a break,” he chided. “Hey…uh…Rick been doing okay? With everything that’s been going on?” He moved his hand in a triangular shape and I had to guess at his meaning.

“You mean between all of us? Yea, it’s going great. Why? Is something wrong?” Daryl looked down at our clasped hands that sat in my lap as he tried to formulate his phrasing.

“Nah…nothing’s wrong. Everything’s great actually. You and Rick…y’all been amazin’. Things with Rick…they’ve been really amazin’. Jus’ been…” his words trailed off and I tried to gauge what he was thinking.

“Been…what? Thinking about how Rick feels...about you guys?” Daryl’s eyes met mine and he nodded. I figured that’s what this was about. Lord knows Rick wasn’t the most vocal about his thoughts and feelings. I’m sure Daryl had been wondering about how things were going between them, but it seemed like these two never had those kinds of conversations and I’d become the intermediary.

“Aw, sweetie. You don’t need to worry. Rick likes you...a lot.” I tried to speak in my most reassuring tone as I ran a hand across his cheek, hoping Daryl wasn’t questioning either mine or Rick’s feelings about him.

“Yea? Jus’ curious, I guess. We don’t talk like y’all do or even like me and you. And we hadn’t really…done nothing, ‘sides kiss.” Daryl blushed a little and looked away shyly. Now I could see what he was getting at and I understood the concern. Rick told me how nervous he was and I think that was holding him back in the bedroom department and I think it had Daryl anxious about them taking that next step.

“Oh…well, that’s because Rick’s just nervous is all. He’s never been with a guy before, ya know. So he’s not use to…working with your kind of equipment, besides his own of course,” and I raised my eyebrows suggestively. Daryl laughed loudly and I saw some of the tension lines in his face relax a little. “I think he’s just going to need some encouragement, sweetie.”

Daryl nodded at my suggestion and then he looked towards the house. I turned around and watched Rick lock the front door and Daryl pulled me down from the bed of the truck, closing the tailgate behind me. “Are we ready?” Rick asked, walking towards the two of us.

“Yep! Let’s get a move on!” I replied and we all piled into the cab of the truck. Rick helped Leah hop in the back and she laid down on the makeshift bed I’d set up for her so she could be comfy on the ride, even though I was sure she’d just hang her head off the side to catch the wind in her face. Rick pulled out of the driveway and soon enough we were on our way.

Pulling into the campground a little over an hour later, we picked out a spot and set things up. I let the boys handle the tent while I gathered firewood and set up chairs. Once we had everything done, we went for a short walk around the woods nearby and I pointed in about a million directions, talking about which path led where. Me and Maggie had learned every trail by heart years ago.

When we headed back, both of the men insisted on cooking dinner while I sat by the fire and played with Leah. The night air had a slight chill to it and I warmed my hands near the flames. While we ate, I looked over at Daryl and he seemed more at peace than I’d ever seen him before. Smiling, I reached over and squeezed his hand lightly. “You look real happy, sweetie. Good plan to come here this weekend?”

He returned my smile and nodded. “Yea…hadn’t realized how much I missed this. And being outside, under the stars, with you two. Prolly the best birthday I ever had.” He blushed and looked down in mild embarrassment, admitting his feelings usually did that to him.

“Good. And it’s only just started! We still have two days!” Both of the men laughed at my excited voice and took sips from their beers. While I cleaned up the dishes and put the trash in a bag that I’d tied to a tree on the other side of camp, Daryl grabbed my guitar and started fiddling around on it, strumming a few random tunes. By the time I sat back down with them, he finally settled on a few starting chords to “Love Me Tender,” giving me a wink to jump in with the words.

I giggled and started to sing along, thinking at first of my father because he’s always been a big Elvis fan and therefore the only reason why I even know this song. But by the middle, I reached over and squeezed Rick’s hand while I rested my other hand on Daryl’s shoulder. As I got to the last line, I sang, “For my darlings…I love you…and I always will,” and gave each man a kiss. Daryl sat the guitar down and grabbed my hand, kissing the palm before getting up and putting the fire out, nodding for us to head into the tent.

I smiled knowingly and we all headed into our slightly cramped quarters hand in hand. I had made a little bed for us out of a mass of blankets and pillows, hoping to soften up the hard ground against our backs. We all went ahead and shed our clothes and when Daryl laid down on one side of the tent, I scooted him towards the center. For one night I didn’t want to be the focus of all the attention; it was his birthday weekend after all.

He smirked sheepishly as me and Rick lay on either side of him, like he wasn’t expecting to be in the middle. Turning on my side next to him, propped up on my elbow, I brushed a few strands of hair from his eyes before leaning down and giving him a kiss. Pulling back, I whispered, “So what’s the birthday boy want?”

As I ran my hand across his smooth chest, he shrugged his shoulders. “Mmm…I don’t know,” he sighed, sounding a little flustered. As he spoke, his eyes looked down at my fingers that brushed across his skin, but I also saw him glance over to Rick who laid mirroring my own pose. Then it occurred to me that he probably wanted something he hadn’t gotten yet and I was pretty tempted to see it myself.

Picking my hand up, I reached over and pulled Rick forward, locking my mouth with his for a sexy kiss, running my tongue along his lower lip until he opened for me. We lapped at each other for a minute until I broke away and used my hand to point his chin towards Daryl. Rick smiled and leaned down to the hunter, kissing him just as eagerly.

While I watched them kiss and tangle their hands in each other’s hair, I ran my hand up and down Daryl’s body, tweaking his nipples and tickling his side. I heard him grunt in disapproval at the tickling and I chuckled, moving my hand further south. Reaching his half-erect cock, I ran my fingers over it lightly and felt him already start to harden. Slipping underneath, I cupped him and gave a light squeeze, watching his face to gauge for a reaction.

He sighed into Rick’s mouth and I saw an imperceptible twitch of his hips so I took that as a good sign. Going back to his cock which was standing up a bit straighter, I stroked him a few times, picking up a small bit of pre-come and rubbing around the head. Debating on how to do my next move, I moved my head close to their kissing mouths and sensing that I wanted in on the fun, they split apart and I went back and forth between furiously kissing them both. As I did that, I rested my hand on top of Rick’s hand that lay on Daryl’s chest and slowly slid both hands downwards.

As I kissed and nibbled at Rick’s swollen pink lips, our hands reached Daryl’s hips and I lifted Rick’s hand and wrapped his fingers around Daryl’s hard length, my own fingers on top of his. I moved his hand up and down to stroke at Daryl and Rick broke our kiss to look down, finally realizing what he was doing. His eyes were dark with lust and he bit his lip nervously as I worked his hand with my own, him flushing a deep shade of crimson.

I pulled my hand away and he kept his in place, continuing to run it up and down Daryl’s fully-erect length. Looking over to Daryl with questioning eyes, he asked nervously, “Is…this okay?”  

“Hell yea…” Daryl answered in a deep growl. Lacing his fingers through Rick’s hair, he pulled the man down for a sloppy kiss, lifting his hips into Rick’s hand at the same time. I watched the sexy scene unfolding before me, licking my lips as I watched Rick pleasure Daryl. “Come here, sexy,” I heard Daryl whisper and then felt my own head turned towards his. He smashed our mouths together and I heard his sighs of pleasure as Rick kept stroking him.

Feeling Rick’s body sit up, I broke away and looked up at him to find his face a little unsure of what he wanted to do next. Sitting up as well, I leaned over and gave him a brief kiss before pulling back and giving him my curious look. “Need some help?” He blushed and looked away, slightly embarrassed.

“You’ve done this to me a thousand times. I feel like I should know what to do,” he mumbled, rubbing a hand behind his head anxiously.

“Here. Watch me,” I said. Moving his hand out of the way, I scooted down and stuck my tongue out, licking Daryl from root to tip, swirling my tongue a little at the head. Pulling back, I nodded for Rick to do the same. He took a deep breath and slowly lowered his head to Daryl’s stiff member. Sticking out his tongue, he did the same as me and I held my breath as I watched Rick lick along Daryl’s cock. Never in a million years did I think I’d get to teach my boyfriend how to give a proper blowjob.

Glancing up, I saw Daryl’s eyes watching intently while he bit his lip and gripped at the pillow beneath his head. Unable to resist, I leaned back down and licked at his cock again at the same time as Rick, so his tongue lapped at one side while I licked the other. I heard Daryl gasp and then groan, “Oh, fuck…” while his hands slapped down at his sides, fisting the blanket underneath him.

When me and Rick brought our heads back up, we both wore the same naughty smiles from making those sounds come out of the mouth of our man. Seeing Daryl this worked up made me want to take control and see how crazy I could make him, but I figured this was Rick’s night to learn the ins and outs of our hunter and that was much more important.

“Then you just wrap your lips around him,” I said to Rick and leaned down to show him how. Licking my lips first, I took Daryl’s cock into my mouth and bobbed my head up and down before lifting my mouth back off with a pop. “Alternate with sucking and licking while moving your lips up and down. And no teeth!” I shook my finger at Rick emphatically and he laughed, rolling his eyes in my direction.

“Yea…no teeth,” Daryl reiterated from above us and now we were all three chuckling. Rick righted himself though and brought his mouth back down to the full erection Daryl had proudly on display. Slowly he took the head into his mouth and lowered his lips down until he had about half of Daryl’s stiffness in him. He lifted his head up and then worked it back down, taking his time which made Daryl moan a little.

“Use your hand to stroke him at the base, baby.” I grabbed Rick’s hand and placed it right at the bottom of Daryl’s cock and Rick followed my instructions. Watching Rick, I started to feel my own desire come to life and I squeezed my thighs together in anticipation. As Rick slowly started to find what felt right and hit a good rhythm, Daryl’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he arched his back a little as he moaned.

“Fuck…that’s good…” he hissed out, running fingers through Rick’s hair. As I watched Rick work, I rubbed a hand absentmindedly on Daryl’s knee closest to me and tried to keep my mouth from drooling. Then I felt Daryl’s hand on my hip and I turned my attention back to him. “Come here, sexy.” Smiling I crawled up to him on my hands and knees and he grabbed the backs of my thighs and pulled me closer to his face. “Wanna taste you…” he mumbled and I knew what he was asking for.

Bringing a knee to either side of his head, I slowly lowered myself down onto him, his hands on my hips to guide me to his mouth. I made sure to face Rick so I could enjoy the view while Daryl teased me and as soon as I felt his tongue slip between my lips, I gasped and brought my hands to his chest so I could have some leverage to keep me from falling over. Daryl’s skilled tongue found my clit right away and he lapped at it while I watched him getting pleasured by Rick.

“Mmm…Baby, swirl and flick your tongue around the head. He likes that,” I moaned to Rick, starting to pant from the building pleasure Daryl was providing me. Rick looked up at me with amusement in his eyes, but he did as I told him and I heard, and felt, Daryl hum in pleasure. Soon my head was rolling backwards and I put more weight on my hands as I started to rock my hips against Daryl’s mouth.

He laid his tongue out flat for me to ride and as my hips went faster, Rick picked up his pace as well. His head bobbed up and down while his hand continued to stroke at what he couldn’t take and I felt Daryl’s fingers digging into my hips as he got close to his peak. Panting in ragged breaths, I managed to stutter, “Baby, take him all way. Make him come for me.”

Rick was obedient and placing both his hands on the ground by Daryl’s hips, he lowered his mouth further and further until he swallowed Daryl’s entire length. Seeing Daryl’s cock fully seated in Rick’s mouth was the sexiest thing I could imagine and it sent me falling over the edge as I rode out my orgasm on Daryl’s tongue. Falling forward, my head rested on Daryl’s stomach as I watched Rick finish him off.

Only a second later, I heard Daryl cry out, “Fuck…fuck…goddamn…” as he gripped my thighs tight enough to leave bruises. I watched him pump into Rick’s mouth and saw Rick swallowed the load that Daryl poured into the back of this throat, Rick’s eyes triumphant in his success. As soon as Daryl stopped moving his hips and Rick slowly lifted his head up, I grabbed his face and brought our lips together. Kissing him deeply, I worked my tongue past his lips and licked at his mouth, eager to taste Daryl on him.

Once I’d gotten my fill, I pulled back and Rick leaned back on his heels, grinning and blushing. I pulled my body off Daryl’s and looked down at him, his face full of exhausted happiness. Brushing his hair off his sweaty forehead, I leaned down and gave him a kiss too. He was still catching his breath, but once he recovered, he waved his hands in the air and said, “Best birthday ever.”

I threw my head back and laughed, hoping that what he said was true, but also knowing that I’d make next year’s even better. I felt Rick come up behind me and he started placing ravenous kisses on my neck and shoulders. Grinding his hips into my ass, his full erection was unmistakable and I knew it was time to take care of my other man.

“Hmmm…can I help you?” I teased, reaching back and running my hand through his hair.

“I think so…” he whispered into my neck, making me shiver slightly. Daryl scooted over on the ground and grabbed one of my arms, pulling me down next to him. He turned my head towards him, bringing our lips together, while Rick positioned himself between my legs and lowered his body onto mine, resuming his tantalizing attack on my neck. Reaching between us, I found Rick’s stiff cock that pushed against me and gave it a few strokes before guiding the head to my entrance.

He slowly pressed into me and I pulled away from Daryl’s lips to take a deep breath. Groaning through the smile that spread across my face, I pushed my head back into the hard ground beneath me, digging my fingers into Rick’s back. “Oh, fuck baby…” I groaned. Opening my eyes that I hadn’t realized I'd shut, I looked up to find Rick smiling back down at me with amusement.

He gave me a light kiss while he gradually started to roll his hips into mine. Then he lifted himself up onto his knees and raised my legs into the air, resting one on each of his shoulders. Turning his head, he kissed my calf as he started to work his hips again, pushing deeper into me and making me moan through gritted teeth. Running his hands up and down my legs while he thrusted, Rick asked, “Like that baby? Like it when I fuck you like this?”

Tugging at the blanket beneath me, I nodded in reply. Turning to Daryl, he gave me another kiss before sitting up and claiming Rick’s mouth with his own. Watching them kiss while Rick fucked me practically doubled my pleasure and my toes curled in the air as my breathing turned ragged. Daryl moved his lips to Rick’s ear and then to his neck, slowly turning to position himself behind Rick.

Running his hands across Rick’s back and down to his ass, Daryl whispered, “Can I try somethin’?” Rick huffed out a breath and nodded in response. At Rick’s reply, I watched Daryl stick two fingers in his mouth and then trail them down to Rick’s lower half. A second later, I knew he’d found his intended target because Rick’s eyes widened and then rolled to the back of his head.

I couldn’t help but giggle a little at Rick’s reaction which caused Rick to reach down and smack my ass. I yelped in surprise and he picked up his pace, making my own eyes roll back. Bringing my attention back to Daryl, I watched him as he observed us intently, sitting back on his heels with one hand resting on Rick’s hip while the other hand fucked Rick from behind.

Rick squeezed my legs tightly as little moans slipped past his lips. Reaching down, I guided a hand between my legs and rubbed at my clit while Rick fucked me harder and faster. “Yes…yes…just like that…oh, god baby…I’m gonna come…” I bit out, feeling myself right on the edge of an intense orgasm. Rick gave an imperceptible nod and pounded his hips into me even harder, slapping my ass one more time to give me that extra push.

I cried out as I felt myself come so hard that my back arched off the ground and my heels dug into Rick’s shoulders. Looking up, I watched Rick’s face intently as my own creased in furious emotion as pleasure wracked my body. Seeing Daryl out of the corner of my eye, he smirked as he watched me come undone, continuing to finger Rick’s ass, smacking his the same as Rick had done mine.

“Mmm…yea…yea…FUCK!” Rick yelled out, tossing his head back as he spilled into me. His nails dug into my legs as he pumped his hips, drawing in rough, hard breaths as beads of sweat fell down his forehead. As he slowed his movements, I lay limp on the ground and watched Daryl gently remove his hand and then give Rick a quick kiss, then he turned and gave me one as well.

Rick gently sat my legs back on the ground as I pulled Daryl down next to me, Rick practically collapsing on his other side. Reaching down, I grabbed a blanket and pulled it up to cover our bodies, cuddling back into Daryl’s side afterwards. Rick turned and curled into Daryl’s side as well so that Daryl had an arm wrapped around both of us while we rested our heads on his shoulders.

Turning to kiss both of our heads, Daryl let go of a slow sigh and I looked up at him curiously. “Everything okay?” I asked, running my hand across his chest.

“Yea...more than okay. It’s perfect, ya know? Jus’ feelin’ lotta things, I guess,” he whispered into the night air.

Leaning up, I kissed his cheek and smiled. “That’s okay. I am too, sweetie.” He smirked and squeezed me tighter to him. I heard the low and steady breathing of Rick on the other side, already fast asleep and I giggled quietly. I thought about telling Daryl all my feelings for him, how much I loved him, but the idea of telling him without Rick being apart of it didn’t seem right, so I held back and just slowly dozed off with the two most amazing men in this world.


	28. Chapter 28

The next morning we rose early and ate a quick breakfast before heading out on a hike. I decided to take them to the prettiest spot in the area, a waterfall that wasn’t too far from the campsite. I led the way with Daryl and Rick following, Leah trailing behind us to sniff at every tree we walked past.

“Slow down, baby,” Rick whined when I had gotten a good bit ahead of them. Stopping to sit on a log, I pulled a water bottle out of the backpack I carried with me and took a sip.

“Guess sitting in that trooper car all day is making you a little slow, huh?” I teased Rick, giving Daryl a wink out of the corner of my eye. Daryl smiled at my playfulness but Rick only scoffed at me. Once he reached where I was sitting, he pounced on me and gave my neck a rough tickle until I practically fell off the log trying to wiggle out of his grasp. “Daryl, help me!” I cried out between gasps for breath.

Daryl came up behind Rick and grabbed his arms, pulling them behind his back. I quickly caught my breath and Daryl said, “Don’t jus’ sit there, sexy. Get him back,” while Rick tried to wrestle out of Daryl’s firm hold. I lunged at Rick and slipped my hands under his shirt, tickling his sides where he was most sensitive.

Rick tried to fight against both of us for a moment longer before sighing and huffing out, “Alright, I give.” We all giggled lightheartedly as Daryl let him go and Rick snatched the water bottle from hand. Taking a sip, he turned his head and spat some water at me, making me squeal.

“Meanie…” I mumbled, flinging a few droplets off my arm.

“Nah…you know I love you…” he replied, leaning over and giving me a light kiss.

“I love you too. Now get your slow butt in gear. Not too much further.” Rick groaned and Daryl gave his ass a smack as we continued down the path. Ten minutes later, we came upon our destination, a pretty waterfall that was situated down in a small valley that you had to walk down into. It was surrounded by beautiful rocks and a small pond at the bottom that flowed out to a stream. Sighing in happiness, I shrugged off my backpack and walked to the edge of the water. Kicking off my sneakers and socks, I dipped my toes into the edge and squealed, “Ah! It’s so cold!”

“’Cause it’s mountain water,” Daryl said behind me. Turning, I watched him walk over next to me and crouch down, dipping his fingers in right next to my feet. He shivered a little and smirked at me as he stood back up. Stepping back onto the warm, rocky embankment, I wrapped my arms around Daryl’s waist and looked up at him.

“Whatcha think?” I asked, turning my head to look around at the beautiful scenery around us. “Worth the hike?”

“Oh yea,” he nodded. “Even if it killed Rick…” he whispered and we glanced over at Rick who had laid sprawled out on a rock with the warm sun beating down on him. I laughed loudly and gave Daryl a big kiss.

“You’d think he’d be in better shape after all the workouts we give him,” I said loud enough to reach Rick’s ears.

Without missing a beat or even bothering to open his eyes, Rick lifted an arm and gave us both the finger. Grabbing my backpack and Daryl’s hand, we walked over and sat down next to him. I unzipped the bag and pulled out a variety of food items that I’d brought along with us. Rick finally pulled himself up at the sound of rustling wrappers and we munched quietly as we took in the peaceful world around us. Leah’s nose snorted at all the new smells and played around at the water’s edge before deciding that it was too cold for her as well.

Gathering the trash and putting it in the bag, I reached into another pocket and pulled out something wrapped in purple paper. I smiled knowingly at Rick and tapped Daryl on the shoulder to get his attention. Turning his head in my direction, he looked down and his face changed into an unreadable expression. “What’s that?” 

“Well, gee, I don’t know. It’s not like this is someone’s birthday today or nothing,” I said sarcastically. “What do you think it is? It’s from me and Rick.” Daryl sighed and scratched at his chin, eyeing the gift hesitantly.

“Y’all didn’t have to get me nothin’…this weekend's better ‘an anythin’ I coulda asked for…”

“Well, we did anyways. So open it,” and I grabbed his empty hand, placing the wrapped gift in it. Biting his lip, he gently tore the paper open, slow enough that I wanted to grab it from him and rip the paper off myself. But I held back and let Daryl take his time. Something told me he wanted to savor this moment. When he finally finished, we watched as he ran his hands over what was under the wrapping paper, a sketchpad and a set of graphite pencils. I had wanted to get Daryl something special but we weren’t exactly rolling in money. When Rick suggested the drawing tools, I knew that it was a great idea and made time to run to the craft store and pick out the best that we could afford. I wrapped them up and managed to hide the gift in my bag.

He flipped through the pages of the sketchpad and opened the pack of pencils, actually leaning in to smell them which made me giggle a little. Daryl’s face went through at least ten different emotions and I couldn’t quite peg how he was feeling. Looking to Rick, I raised my eyebrows, unsure of what to say. Rick bit his lip and leaned forward, placing a hand on Daryl’s shoulder.

“Figured you might like something to draw on ‘sides that old notepad at the house. Is it okay?” He ran his hand through Daryl’s hair and then brushed his thumb over his cheek. Daryl’s hand landed on his and he turned his head, kissing the middle of Rick’s palm before bringing the hand down to his lap.

“Yea…S’more than okay. Nicest gift I ever got…” he mumbled quietly. He sat there in silence for another minute, staring at the gift, before I got antsy, wondering what he was thinking.

Scooting forward to sit in front of him cross-legged, I brought my hand to his chin and tilted his head up so our eyes met. “Hey. What’s going on in there?” I tapped his temple gently.

Daryl sighed and shook his head to get some of his hair out of his face. “Sometimes…I wonder if this is all dream, ya know? Finding you two, us being together, y’all being so…amazing, taking care of me.”

Rick scooted closer as well, hand still clasped with Daryl’s in his lap. “You take care of us too, Daryl. It’s not just one way.”

Daryl smirked and chuckled a little, shaking his head. “Nah…y’all always had each other. But y’all…y’all saved me. No other way to put it.”

“Hey mister. We may have been together before you came into our lives, but we weren’t complete without you. I hope you know that.” As I spoke, I put both of my hands on either side of Daryl’s head and looked straight in his eyes so he knew I was telling the truth.

“Yea? You sure ‘bout that?” His eyes gave a slight look of worry as he asked his question.

“You wanna know how I’m sure?” He nodded and I reached down and grabbed a hand from each man, linking all three of us. “Because I’m just as in love with you as I am with him,” and I nodded to Rick. “I love you, Daryl Dixon.”

Daryl’s face turned about three different shades of red and I heard his breathing pick up a little too. “You love me?” he asked, his voice slightly higher pitched than usual. I smiled brightly and nodded.

“Yes, I do love you.” He pursed his lips and huffed a few quick breaths out of his nostrils. Looking over to Rick, his eyes asked him the same question. I looked to Rick as well and saw his smiling face; I knew his answer before he even spoke.

“You don’t even need to ask, Daryl. I love you too.” Rick’s words poured over Daryl and I watched as the hunter’s shoulders sagged like all the weight in the world has been lifted off of him. He looked down at his lap and I tilted my head down to look at his face. When I saw a few tears fall down his cheeks, I brought my hand up and wiped them away, cupping his face and kissing his damp lips.

“Don’t cry, sweetie,” I whispered. Rick took the arm of the hand that he was holding and threw it over his shoulder, wrapping his own arms around Daryl’s waist and burying his forehead in Daryl’s neck. Instead of calming him, our affections only made him cry a little more, holding tight to each of us. We let him take his time, and after a couple minutes, his breathing started to even out and his tears turned to light sniffles.

“I love you guys too,” he mumbled quietly. He gave us both a big, sloppy, wet kiss and I laughed as we pulled away. Daryl opened up his new sketchpad and pulled out one the pencils we gave him and then instructed us to lay down. Smiling at one another, me and Rick laid back on the warm rock as the rays of the sun washed over us. I closed my eyes and laid my arms out wide, wishing that my life could stay this beautiful and perfect for all eternity.

I must have dozed off because a while later, I felt someone nudging me awake and my eyes slowly fluttered open. “Wake up, baby. We gotta start heading back or we’ll get caught out here in the dark.” Grumbling in the whiney voice I used when I was sleepy, I slowly rose up and stretched, my body stiff from laying on that hard rock.

Both men were standing up and I watched Daryl pack up his sketchpad and pencils. “Hey, I want to see what you drew,” I told him before he could zip the bag close. Smirking, he pulled the pad back out and flipped it open, handing it to me. Looking down, I saw a really beautiful picture of me and Rick, both of us with our eyes closed. I flipped to the next page and saw another picture, this one of Leah with her head down by the water. “Aw, these are great, sweetie.”

Daryl just smiled sheepishly and took the sketchpad back, packing it away in the bag. “Yea, now he just needs to draw one of himself,” I heard Rick comment next to Daryl, rubbing a hand on the hunter’s back.

“Maybe one day…” Daryl muttered. Turning to Rick and fisting his shirt, he firmly planted his lips on top of the other man’s. Rick kissed him back eagerly as I stood up and pulled the straps of the bag onto my shoulders. I walked up to both men and put a hand on each one of their butts, giving both a hard squeeze to get their attention.

“Y’all gonna keep this up? ‘Cause I could still be sleeping right now but someone said it was time to go.” With that, I gave each ass a rough smack and quickly turned, jogging towards the path that lead back to the campsite. Turning around, I saw them break apart and start to come after me and I ran faster, shrieking and laughing in glee.

We made it back to the campsite just before dark and I started cooking dinner since the boys cooked last night. Once we had full bellies, we sat by the campfire roasting marshmallows and giggling at how many Rick had managed to catch on fire and let fall into the flames. Sitting my stick down, I looked over to Daryl because I felt his strong hands rubbing at my legs that I had resting in his lap. When our eyes met, I could see that he was thinking something naughty, eyes aflame with desire. “Uh-oh. Baby, someone’s got that look,” I said to Rick, nodding my head towards Daryl.

Rick laughed a little before he agreed. “Yea, he sure does. What do you think he’s got on his mind?”

“I don’t know. S’gotta be something good though. He looks ‘bout ready to pounce.” Me and Rick chuckled to ourselves while we observed and talked about Daryl. The hunter seemed amused by our exchange and kindly gave us the finger. “Well, I’d be happy to, Sir. Just tell me how you want it,” I said in a cheery, yet obedient voice.

“Hmmm…” Daryl mumbled, slipping a hand underneath my pant leg to run along the smooth skin of my shaved leg. “I have been thinkin’ ‘bout somethin’ today…”

“What’s that?” Rick asked on the other side of me.

“Kinda up to her though,” and he nodded to me.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise, unsure of what we could do that would leave the decision up to me. “Well, let’s hear it, then.”

Daryl chewed at his thumbnail for second before he finally got the courage to find his voice. “Would you…ever wanna take both of us…at the same time?” He motioned from himself to Rick.

“Oh. Huh…I haven’t really thought about that. You mean…” and I raised my eyebrows so he would clarify what he meant.

“I think he means one of us gets the front and the other gets the back, baby,” Rick answered, tucking a stand of hair behind my ear.

“Hmmm…” I bit my lip as I thought about the logistics of that.

“I’m only asking,” Daryl said quietly and he lifted one of my feet up and placed a kiss to the inside of my ankle. “I mean…we haven’t ever done anything like that, not back here,” and he reached over and slapped my butt, making me chuckle. “I’ve been in Rick’s ass more than yours.” With that, I doubled over laughing and I heard both men chuckling on either side of me.

Once I got control of myself, I sat upright and wiped at my eyes that had watered a little. “Well, we’ve tried a few times,” and I pointed to Rick. “But…he’s just so…thick. It’s never felt that great to me.”

“What if Daryl tried this time? And I took you here,” Rick leaned over and ran a hand across my pants where my thighs met. A shiver rushed up my spine as I felt arousal start to stir within me.

“Maybe…but don’t we need something for that? I mean…I don’t think spit would cut it. Maybe for fingers, but not...” I blushed and looked away, slightly embarrassed. Daryl picked my feet up and sat them gently on the ground before walking over to the truck and opening the passenger side of the cab. He rummaged around for a second before coming back with a small paper bag. He handed it to me and I looked inside, gasping slightly before I reached in and pulled out a bottle of lube. Handing it to Rick, he inspected it for a second in the light of the fire before smiling at Daryl.

“Huh? Think he was planning something, baby?” Rick asked me, placing the bottle back in my outreached hand.

“It looks that way, doesn’t it?” I replied, eyeing Daryl before I tossed the bottle back to where he stood. He caught it awkwardly and grinned, shrugging his shoulders.

“Wasn’t planning anythin’. Jus’ figured it’d be good for us to have some.”

“Uh-huh,” I said, raising my eyebrows and crossing my arms.

“Don’t be like that,” Daryl pleaded. He dropped down onto his knees in front of me and pulled my arms open, wrapping them around his shoulders before nuzzling his face into my chest.  “I really wasn’t planning anythin’. Hopin’s more like it. ‘Sides, I figured I’d get to use it on you or Rick, one.” Daryl winked at me and I couldn’t hold back my laughter as it spilled past my lips. Hugging Daryl’s head to my chest, I looked over to Rick who was smiling as well, but he also sported some raised eyebrows, in either surprise or interest, I couldn’t tell.

“Alright, alright. Well, it is your birthday, so I don’t see why not.” Daryl pulled back and looked up into my eyes.

“Don’t do it jus’ ‘cause it’s my birthday. I only wanna do it if we all wanna do it.” My eyes softened as Daryl spoke. He was so sincere sometimes that it tore me to pieces.

“I wanna do it,” I said reassuringly. Standing up, I grabbed Daryl’s hand and Rick’s hand and we headed into the tent. Stripping off our clothes, we laid together and started our gentle caresses along each other’s bodies. Slow, sensual kisses were placed on each other’s mouths and soft skin until we were all one big, worked up mess. Daryl started to slowly kiss his way down my body as me and Rick locked our lips together in a passionate embrace.

As soon as I felt Daryl’s tongue dart between my legs, I broke away and took a deep breath, glancing down to find his eyes watching us as his hands spread my legs open and his mouth went to work. Reaching a hand down, I found Rick’s hard length that was rubbing into my hip and started to stroke him as he worked rough bites into the sensitive skin on my neck. All the while, I never broke eye contact with Daryl, watching him breathe through his nose while his tongue flicked and lapped at my clit.

Rick moaned a little into my neck and he worked his lips lower until he was playfully biting at the hard peaks of my breasts. I watched Daryl pull his mouth away for a second to lick at a finger that he plunged into my wetness, curling it upwards inside of me to find that perfect spot. Once I felt him brush against it, I yelped and lifted my hips while his eyes smiled mischievously. He kept working that finger inside of me while his beautiful mouth went back to my sensitive bud.

Within a minute, I felt my peak fast approaching and I couldn’t stop myself from lifting my hips and riding his hand into my release. Bringing my hand from Rick’s hardness to his arm, I held him tight as my orgasm rushed through me, throwing my head back and crying out as I finally broke my eyes away from Daryl’s. As my pleasure slowly wound down, I felt Daryl pull his hand from me and crawl up my body.

I watched as his lips connected with Rick’s and I saw a small smile spread across Rick’s face. I smiled too because I knew his grin was over the fact that he could taste me on Daryl’s mouth. Laying back and catching my breath, I enjoyed the scene that unfolded before me as my two men got close to one another, hands roaming all over each other’s bodies as their tongues danced back and forth. Soon, they were kissing furiously as they stroked at each other’s stiff lengths, working their hands from base to tip.

Daryl swiped at a drop of pre-come that had spilled from the head of Rick’s cock and eagerly brought the finger to his mouth, licking the tip clean. Just the sight of that had me moaning out loud and both men looked over at me, eyes widening. I looked down and realized that my own hand had slipped between my legs and I lazily circled my clit while I watched two of the sexiest men I’d ever seen go at it.

“Come here, sexy,” Daryl mumbled in the low growl he used when he was turned on. He grabbed the hand that was between my legs and pulled me up. Then he turned me around and put my hands on the ground, so now I was on my hands and knees. I felt him get behind him and soon felt his tongue dart between my legs again, licking from my clit to my back entrance.

“Oh…” I moaned in surprise, the new sensation felt odd but good at the same time. He circled his tongue a few more times before pulling back and I heard the pop of what I assumed was the lid to the bottle of lube. A second later, I felt cold, slick fingers run along the same area where Daryl’s tongue had just been. I felt the fingers circle my clit, making me sigh, and then they plunged into me which made me take a sharp intake of breath.

While those fingers fucked me, I felt a thumb start to rub gently at my clit and I groaned deeply as I started to get built back up. Then I felt a different sensation, another slick finger that circled at my back entrance, gently pushing inward. Turning my head, I saw out the corner of my eye that while Daryl fucked me and rubbed my clit with his fingers, Rick had one hand on my hip to steady me while he used his other hand to prep my behind.

Gradually pushing his finger into me, he moved his free hand to rub up and down my back. “Relax, baby…” he whispered in his soothing voice and I let my head drop back down, exhaling slowly and trying to let my muscles unwind. Resting my head on a pillow, I shifted my weight to my elbows and tried to steady my breathing while my two men kept at it.

After Rick worked one finger into me, Daryl’s movements got quicker and my breathing started to get ragged as I pushed my body back into their magical hands. Then Rick slipped a second finger in and I groaned loudly into the pillow. “You okay, baby?” I heard Rick ask and I nodded from below.

“Don’t stop…” I whimpered and they listened, keeping a relentless pace. Rick stretched me open, slipping a third finger in and I felt myself almost at the edge of another orgasm. Daryl’s hands were bringing me there quickly and I reached underneath me, slowing the thumb that was going against my clit. “Oh, fuck…you’re gonna make me come…wait…” I pleaded and I felt both men slow their movements. As they pulled away, I sat up slowly on shaky arms and looked behind me. “How do you want me?”

“Here,” Daryl said and he wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me back slightly. Rick laid down next and then Daryl lifted me on top of him, pulling one leg over Rick’s body so I straddled him. Rick reached down and held his cock while Daryl raised me a little and then lowered me down onto Rick, completely sheathing his entire member inside of me. Leaning my hands on Rick’s stomach, my head dipped back and I sighed as he filled me.

Rick couldn’t help but lift his hips a little, making me rock back and forth on top of him as his finger brushed against my clit. I pulled his hand away, groaning, and shook my head. “Baby, I’m so close. I wanna wait for Daryl.” Rick nodded and rested his hands on my thighs, giving me a reassuring squeeze. I felt Daryl come up close behind me and I turned to watch him rub a slick hand over his own hardness.

After a second, he came closer and wrapped an arm around my waist, leaning in to kiss me on the neck. He whispered in my ear, “You ready? I’ll go slow.” I nodded and he angled my torso forward a little as he used his hand to guide himself behind me. I felt his head at my back entrance and I tried to stay relaxed as he slowly pushed himself in. He was definitely bigger than Rick’s fingers and my head dropped a little as I felt him stretch me open.

Rick reached up and pulled my hair to one side and ran his hands along my shoulders and arms so I wouldn’t tense up. Daryl pushed in a little and then slowly pulled out, pushing in slightly more the next time, continuing the same pattern until he was completely inside of me after a few seconds. I breathed slow and deep as I adjusted to the feeling of being completely filled by my men.

Daryl held me tight and reached down to rub a hand against Rick’s stomach as well while Rick reached up to cup my face with one hand and stroke at Daryl’s side with the other. I smiled inwardly as I realized I felt completely at one with both of them and this was a truly special moment. “I love you…” I whispered. “I love you both…”

"We love you too, baby," Rick said with a smile as Daryl placed a kiss in my hair. Then they both started to move their hips and I was completely lost in a new sensation. While Rick rocked into me, Daryl thrusted slowly from behind and the pleasure that swept through me was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. A jumble of unrecognizable words fell from my mouth as my head fell back onto Daryl’s shoulder and my fingers clutched at Rick’s abs.

My heart felt like it was beating a million miles a minute and then I felt Rick’s hand slip between my legs. His thumb ran across my clit once, twice, then a third time and I cried out as a violent orgasm ripped its way through my body. Falling forward, my forehead pressed against Rick’s chest as every muscle in my body tensed. While I tried to catch my breath, Rick ran a hand through my hair and Daryl placed soft kisses on my back.

“That was quick,” Rick chuckled and I felt Daryl’s laughter vibrate through his chest and into mine.

“Think she liked it?” Daryl asked.

Smiling, I pushed myself back up and sighed. “Both of y’all hush. Now do that again.” Rick’s eyebrows shot up and I turned my head and gave Daryl a quick kiss before rocking my hips against both men, encouraging them to keep going. Now they were the ones who held tight to me and bit back groans.

“Fuck…” Rick huffed out. “Daryl, in case I forget to tell you later…oh, god…this was a great idea…” Both me and Daryl chuckled at Rick’s words, but soon we were all three lost in each other as we made love. I went back and forth between kissing each man as hands roamed across sweat-slicked skin.

Both men sped up until they were pounding into me at the exact same rate, bringing me once again right to the edge. Grabbing Daryl’s hand that was gripping my hip for dear life, I pulled it to my center and managed to say, “Please…make me come again…”

Both men were drawing in rough breathes and as Daryl’s fingers started to rub my clit side to side, he growled, “Fuck…almost there…Rick?”

Rick’s upper body curled up off the ground as he held tight to my hips and pushed into me. His face was red and dripping with sweat as his brow furrowed in concentration. “Oh, God…me too…oh, fuck…oh…now!” he bit out and he tossed his head back as his eyes clenched shut, lost in ecstasy. Watching Rick sent me tumbling into my own orgasm and my hand covered Daryl’s, pushing his fingers hard into my clit while I cried out. Daryl was only a second behind me, thrusting hard and fast as he cursed quietly, his hot breath blowing into my ear.

As the aftershocks slowly started to fade, I leaned back into Daryl to catch my breath before sighing and falling forward onto Rick’s chest. Daryl gradually pulled himself from me and then both men worked to lift me off of Rick and lay me down, mostly because I was too exhausted to move. Turning me onto my side, Daryl curled up behind me and Rick turned to face me, wrapping both their arms around my limp body.

Smiling in my completely blissed, out of my mind state, I whispered, “Can we just stay like this forever? I don’t ever want to lose this feeling.”

“Hmmm…I don’t know, baby. Daryl?” Rick asked, leaning up and looking at the man on the other side of me.

“Mmm…yea. I think so. Probably not here…but this feeling’ll never stop. I’ll never stop loving you guys.”

“We’ll never stop loving you either,” Rick replied, reaching across and squeezing all three of our bodies tightly together. I squealed in delight at being smooshed between the two loves of my life and we all laughed together. Daryl pulled a blanket over our naked bodies and we cuddled in close.

As he ran a hand through my hair, Daryl said quietly, “Thank you guys. Been the best birthday of my whole life.”

“So far. We still got plenty more to go, sweetie.” I felt Daryl smile against me as he placed a soft kiss into my hair. Rick fell asleep soon after and as I heard Daryl’s breathing steady out, I sighed at how perfect life could be and I followed my men into sleep.


	29. Chapter 29

We spent the next day breaking down camp and enjoying each other’s company, reluctant to leave our little oasis of love. After we loaded everything back into the truck, I helped Leah into the back and chuckled as I watch Rick and Daryl tease one another and play fight. After Daryl got Rick into a headlock that he just couldn’t get out of, Rick finally admitted defeat and Daryl let him go.

They chuckled and hugged briefly, Rick giving Daryl a quick kiss as I walked up and wrapped my arms around both of them. “Y’all ‘bout ready?” I asked. They nodded and we held each other tightly, thinking about how truly special this weekend had been.

“Hey, Rick!” Hearing someone call out Rick’s name, we broke apart and looked around to find the source. Walking over from a few campsites away was someone that I recognized from Rick’s station but I couldn’t put a name to his face.

“Oh, Jerry. Hey, man. How you doin’?” Rick asked. As soon as Rick said his name, I felt Daryl pull away slightly, putting some space between us. Biting my lip, I frowned at him but I wasn’t really sure what to do either. I also wasn’t sure how much this Jerry had seen before he walked up.

“Pretty good. Brought the family up for the week,” and he turned and pointed towards a woman with two small children sitting at the campsite he’d just come from. “How ‘bout you?” he asked, turning back and glancing not only at myself, but Daryl as well.

“Oh…just came up for the weekend. This is my girlfriend, Beth, and our friend, Daryl.” Rick introduced us and we shook his hand, me with a smile and Daryl with a curt nod.

“Jeez, Rick. I heard you was robbing the cradle, but I didn’t think it was this bad,” Jerry joked, chuckling lightly.

“So I hear…” Rick sighed and I could see he was trying his hardest to keep from rolling his eyes. I squeezed his hand reassuringly and put on my big, bright waitress smile.

“Well, it was a real pleasure to meet you, but we just loaded up to head back home. Time to hit the road.” We said our pleasant goodbyes and he walked back to his own campsite but not before I caught him eyeing Daryl one more time, a slightly confused look hidden beneath his friendly demeanor.

As we climbed into the cab of the truck, Rick got behind the wheel and sighed. “Think he saw anything?” he asked, his voice tinged with worry.

“Nah…it’ll be fine,” Daryl answered, reaching behind me and giving Rick a pat on the shoulder. I glanced up at my hunter and our eyes connected for a second and I could see that he was just as worried as I was, but we both wanted to be strong for Rick. The last thing we needed was for him to catch hell at work.

“Yea, baby. I doubt he saw anything. We were just hugging. Lotsa people hug. Even if he did, it’s nothing to worry over right now.” I patted his thigh and Rick smiled at me, leaning over for a kiss before we pulled out and headed back home.

The next day, I went back to work and told Darlene all about our wonderful weekend and how we had said those three little words. She was over the moon, almost more excited than I was when I told Daryl I loved him, and we chatted the day away between customers. She left when Luanne came in and I gave her a big hug before she headed out to the parking lot. It meant a lot to me to have a friend like Darlene who supported me wholeheartedly.

Towards the end of my shift, I was finishing up with my last customer, a particularly snotty woman who had sent her food back twice. I knew my tip was practically a lost cause at this point and the most I could do was just keep smiling as I brought her the check. As I turned to walk back to the counter, I heard a low voice mutter, “Slut,” and I whipped around to see her eyes dart away from me.

“Excuse me!?” I asked, walking back to the table and standing right next to her with my hand on my hip. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you quite clear enough.” I knew my eyes were on fire as I gazed down on her. She flushed about ten different shades of red, but instead of backing down at me calling her out, she raised her head high and spoke in the haughtiest of voices.

“I called you a…slut.” Her words stumbled a bit but she managed to spit them out and I drew a sharp intake of breath at her audacity.

“How…how dare you…” I whispered, too shocked to even raise my voice at this embittered, old woman. “You don’t even know me!”

“Oh, I know enough. You can believe that, young lady. This whole town knows about you…” She looked at her check and I stood there and watched as she pulled her wallet out and counted out the exact number of bills and change that equaled her tab, down to the last penny.

“For your information, you and this whole town don’t know a damn thing about me. And thanks for your generosity, by the way. That’s real classy.” I swiped up the money she sat on the table and abruptly turned my back to her, stalking over to the counter to open the register. I was practically fuming and I couldn’t believe that someone could be so hateful.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as the woman stood from her table in a huff and walked to the front door, stopping briefly by Luanne before walking out. Luanne’s face said it all and I knew she was going to tell Lee about my exchange with that woman. But what was done was done and even if I could change the things I had said to that awful woman, I wouldn’t.

Grabbing my purse and jacket, I waved goodbye to Luanne and left, gripping the steering wheel tight as I drove home. When I pulled in, I found Daryl on the porch swing, smoking a cigarette and reading a book with Leah curled up at his feet. As soon as I stepped on the porch, I broke down into tears and his face creased with concern.

Holding his arms out, I fell into them and curled my body into his as I cried out my frustrations. He soothed me with his quiet voice and strong hands until my sobs turned to quiet hiccups. After a minute, he finally pulled back to look into my face, wiping away wet spots with his sleeve. “Alright. What happened? Whose ass I need to kick?”

Laughing through my stuffy nose, I sat up and wiped at the few remaining tears that clung to my chin. “This terrible woman at the diner,” I said, shaking my head. I told him the things she said and he clicked his tongue in outrage. Pulling away from me, he stood up and paced the porch a little, finally stopping to lean against the railing.

“Dammit…” he sighed, biting at a thumbnail. “This ain’t what I wanted. You don’t need that shit. Everyone knew you was this sweet lil’ girl ‘fore I came ‘round…” His eyes cut to the floorboards of the porch and I saw a wave of guilt wash over him.

“Hey…” Standing from the swing, I walked over to him and pulled at his arms that he had wrapped tight around his torso. Draping them around my shoulders, I curled my own arms around him and tucked my head underneath his chin. “Look, it’s just one bad day. One bad person. Before that I was giggling all day with Darlene, telling her about how we said I love you and how crazy I am about you. How great our weekend was. I’ll never ever regret any of this, not in a million years. If I have to have one person a day call me a slut for the rest of my life, I’d do it to be with you and Rick. That’s how much y’all mean to me. Okay?”

Daryl was quiet for a minute before he smirked a little and finally nodded. “You really tell her all that?”

Now I was the one grinning. “Yea. She’s a good friend. She ain’t gonna go telling a bunch of people. She likes the idea of two men taking care of me.”

“You…you tell her ‘bout me and Rick?” He raised his eyebrows nervously as he spoke.

“No…” I giggled. “I think that’s one that I’ll keep between us three. Less you want me to tell her?” He laughed a little and shook his head, leaning down to kiss me. I sighed and relaxed into his embrace, already feeling about ten times better than I had when I first stepped onto the porch. The sun was just starting to set and I could smell that someone had a fire going in their chimney not too far away.

We were about to head inside when we saw a car pull into the driveway and it happened to be Rick’s truck. I gave Daryl a confused look because Rick was supposed to be working late tonight. Daryl only shrugged in response, his eyebrows furrowing in curiosity. We watched Rick get out of his truck and just from the way he slammed his door, I knew he was mad. He stalked up the porch and didn’t even bother to greet us as he made his way to the front door.

Swinging it open, Rick clomped inside and me and Daryl followed him in. Rick went to make for the kitchen, but Daryl caught up to him in the hallway and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey. What’s goin’ on?”

Rick finally stopped and placed his hands on his hips, sighing deeply before he turned around to look at us. What I saw had me floored and I gasped as I ran over to him. He had a black eye just starting to form on the left side of his face and I held his chin tenderly as I tried to get a better look at it. “Rick Grimes. What the hell happened?” I cried out.

Daryl was right next to me now, hand still on Rick’s shoulder as he, too, tried to get a better look at the offending eye. “Shit, man. Who the hell gave you that?”

“Alright, alright,” Rick said through clenched teeth. He held out his arms and took a step back, trying to get some breathing room. “Apparently…Jerry saw more than we thought. And he wasn’t exactly quiet about it. Think he sent a text to some guys at the station and it made its way ‘round. Got there this morning and everyone was acting all weird. I tried to brush it off, but I knew something was up. When I asked who was gonna head out on route 29 with me, nobody spoke up. When I asked what was going on, Pete…had some choice words to say.”

“What’d he say?” I asked, eager to know what had caused this to turn to a physical altercation.

“Said…” then Rick sighed and wiped a hand over his face. “Said that he needed to know who’d be in the driver’s seat. If I wanted to be the one to take charge. Then the guys laughed and I asked him what exactly he was trying to say. He said that I should know and that he didn’t want to ride around with someone who likes to take it from another man.”

“Oh, baby. I’m so sorry…” I said quietly. Reaching up, I tried to hold his face but he shrugged my hand away.

“Nah, it’s fine. Some other stuff was said. Led to this,” and he pointed at his eye. “Both of us got sent home until they can figure out what to do.”

“What else was said?” Daryl asked, his voice so low I almost didn’t hear him. Rick huffed out a long breath through flared nostrils and shook his head.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it. I’m gonna go upstairs.” Turning around, he headed for the steps and climbed them two at a time, closing the bedroom door behind him with a click. Daryl walked like he was going to follow him but I hooked a hand around his bicep and held him back. When we heard the door shut, I pulled him to the sofa and we sat down together.

“He needs a little bit. When Rick gets upset, he likes to sit in quiet and get things straight in his mind before he talks about them.” Daryl nodded solemnly at my words and we sat in silence for a bit. I finally got up though and ordered Chinese food, figuring that tonight was no night to be cooking. Once it was delivered, I nodded for Daryl to follow me and we headed upstairs.

Quietly opening the door, I peaked in and saw Rick laying on the bed in his underwear, his uniform shrugged off onto the floor. He was facing the wall and I saw him move a bit, so I knew he wasn’t sleeping. Sitting down with Daryl at the end of the bed, we pulled our food out and sat Rick’s down at his feet. I tickled his ankle to let him know that it was there and saw him give an imperceptible nod of acknowledgement.

We started to munch away and after a minute, Rick finally sat up and started to eat as well. Once we were about halfway in, he sighed between a bite and mumbled, “He called me…a lot of bad names. That’s when I got in his face. I didn’t wanna fight, but then he threw the first punch and I got a couple in before they pulled us apart.”

“I’m sorry that happened baby. I had a day too.” And then I told Rick about the lady from the diner and he seemed just as upset as Daryl had earlier. But I reassured him that I was over it now and the only thing I was worried about was facing the wrath of Lee tomorrow. “But I’m sure I can handle him too,” I said with a roll of my eyes and I saw the corner of Rick’s mouth quirk upwards.

Daryl stayed quiet, his face focused on the food in front of him. Me and Rick knew him well enough now that when he was that quiet, that meant he had the most on his mind. “Hey,” Rick whispered, putting a gentle hand on Daryl’s shoulder to get his attention. When the hunter finally looked up, Rick leaned forward and kissed him softly. “You should know…I never told them no. Never denied it. I’m not ashamed of you. They’re the ones who oughta be ashamed for acting that way. It was gonna come out sooner or later, guess it’s better that it happens now and we get it over with, right?”

Daryl merely nodded as he continued eating, eyes going back to their downcast direction. Me and Rick glanced at one another and we both knew that Daryl was going to be closed off tonight and there wasn’t much we could do. Once we finished eating, Daryl stood up and gathered the trash. “Think I’ll go toss this and then head to bed…” he mumbled, and nodded towards the garage.

“You’re not sleeping with us?” I asked. Now I was really worried. For him not to sleep with us after such a perfect weekend, it almost broke my heart. Daryl bit his lip and shook his head a little.

“Nah…think I need some time…to think ‘bout things.”

“Well…don’t think too hard,” I practically pleaded. Standing up, I gave him a tight hug and a kiss, only stepping away when I felt Rick come up behind me. He gave Daryl a kiss as well and we both told him goodnight and that we loved him. Daryl gave a half smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes and that made me feel even worse. When he left, I went to the window and watched for him to leave the house and walk into the garage.

He didn’t even bother to turn the light on in his room and I didn’t know if that should make me worry more or not. “C’mon baby. Come to bed. We’ve all had a rough day. I think he just needs  a little space right now.” Turning to Rick, he motioned me towards the bed and I climbed in next to him with a big, deep sigh.

“I know you’re right…but that doesn’t stop me from worrying.”

“I know, I know. I think he’s feeling like he’s responsible for the tough times we’re having right now,” Rick said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder as I rested my head on his chest.

“But I don’t want him to feel that way! I told him if I had to deal with one person calling me a slut every day for the rest of my life, then I’d do it if it meant I got to be with both of you.” Rick chuckled lightly and I tweaked his nipple to reign him in. “Don’t laugh…” I whimpered.

“I’m sorry. I won’t. And I know you don’t want him to feel that way, but we can’t control that. All we can do is reassure him and let him know that he’s all we’ve ever wanted. And then hope for the best.” I nodded solemnly against Rick and eventually we both drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, when I woke up and went downstairs, Daryl’s bike wasn’t in the driveway and I found a note next to the coffeemaker. It read that he had left early to ride and clear his mind and I sighed as I balled it up and threw it in the trash. I sipped my coffee and stared out the kitchen window for awhile before I heard Rick’s footsteps pitter-patter above me. Once he came downstairs, I told him about the note I found and he held me close for minute, trying to soothe my troubled thoughts.

Eventually we pulled apart so I could get ready for work and I gave him a kiss goodbye as I headed out the door. He wasn’t sure when his captain was going to let him come back to work and his face looked every bit as miserable as he was feeling. I prayed that things at the station would blow over soon.

Once I got to the diner, I headed inside and was all the way behind the counter, tucking my things under the sink and saying good morning to Darlene, when Lee came through the kitchen door. Darlene’s words fell silent as soon as she saw him step out and I turned around, knowing that I was probably going to be in for it. “Beth, I need to see you in my office,” Lee said curtly, his lips pursed together in one of his disapproving grimaces.

“Okay, Lee.” I turned around to Darlene and gave her a frown, hoping that this wasn’t going to be too bad. Lee almost never asked us to go to his office. He was usually just fine berating us in front of the customers or kitchen staff. She gave me a reassuring smile and squeezed a hand quickly on my arm before I followed Lee to the back.

He stepped into his tiny office, a sad little room with fake wood-paneled walls, and sat behind his desk. His thrift store computer chair squeaked loudly as he sat down and told me to shut the door behind me. I did as he asked and caught a sympathetic glance from Ricardo as I closed the door with a click. Sitting across from him in the world’s most uncomfortable chair, I crossed my legs and started to bite at my thumbnail nervously.

“I think you know what this is about,” he said, raising his stern eyebrows.

“Yea…probably…” I replied weakly. Even though I held no ounce of respect for the man in front of me, I couldn’t help but feel like I was being disciplined by a principal in school, about to get a note sent home to my Daddy for bad behavior and it made me feel awful.

“Luanne told me about last night, Beth. Now I don’t know what on Earth caused you to say those things, but there’s never any excuse for cursing at a customer. Your performance has been extremely poor lately…”

“But Lee, that woman said some awful things to me. You gotta believe me when I say that. I’d never say that normally. I’ve been here two years, has anyone ever complained about me?” I pleaded for him to listen to my sincerity, widening my eyes that were already threatening to spill tears.

“Beth, a month ago, I’d say no. But there’s been some…words flying around here lately…about your lifestyle. Lotta customers ain’t taking too kindly to that. Had a few complaints come in that I ain’t told you ‘bout. Hoping things would blow over, but that don’t seem too likely. I just…” and Lee sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. “There’s just a standard we gotta set here, Beth.”

“Oh, I see…” I whispered as a tear fell down my cheek. “So what you’re saying is that how I choose to spend MY time outside of this diner is a determinate of how well I work while I’m here?”

“It ain’t about how hard you work. It’s about what we represent as a whole. And last night…well last night was really the last straw. There’s only so much, Beth. I don’t think we can keep you here any longer.” I’ll give credit where credit's due. Lee knew what he was doing was wrong and he couldn’t even look me in the eye as he spoke, instead staring at the pencil he twirled in his hand.

I realized that nothing I could say was going to change his mind and instead of being sad about it, my eyes flashed red and I almost felt like screaming. “Okay, then,” I said curtly, standing up fast enough to push the chair all the way back against the wall behind me. “Good to know that who I want to fuck on my time is enough reason to get fired from this shithole that barely paid me a living wage. I hope you can still look at yourself in the mirror after today, Lee.”

Lee’s mouth fell open and he looked like he was about to say something back but I didn’t even give him the chance. I turned around and wrenched the door open, stomping out to the diner and walking right up to Darlene who was taking a couple’s order. She saw my red, teary eyed faced and her face automatically told me she knew what happened.

“Sorry. Be right back,” she told the couple and then grabbed my arm to pull me two feet away. “That bastard fire you?” I nodded and sniffled a little, trying to hold back any more tears that threatened to spill down my face. “Damn that sonofabitch,” she muttered, wrapping me into a tight hug. “Well honey, don’t you let it get you down. This is probably for the best and I promise you’re gonna find something better. What’s meant to be, will be. Right?”

Pulling back, she wiped the tears off my face with her hand and gave me one her big, bright, red lip-sticked smiles. “Yea…I guess you’re right,” I replied, trying to lift my chin and push aside the small amount of sadness I felt at having to leave this place. It surely wasn’t the best job, but I had found comfort in coming here each day and knowing exactly what to do and having a good chuckle with Darlene behind the counter while we waited for a customer to come in.

“You’re damn right I am. Now go home to those two wonderful men who love you with all their heart and I promise that tomorrow morning, things are gonna look better.” I gave her a small smile and hugged her again before wiping away the last of my tears and heading back out the way I came, promising to call her later so we could talk some more. Waving goodbye to Ricardo, I gave Lee’s closed office door the finger and walked out to my car. As I cranked the engine, I thought about what Darlene had said and realized that this could actually be for the best. Maybe my life was finally going in a direction instead of mindlessly floating through each day with no clear road to follow.


	30. Chapter 30

When I pulled back into the driveway not even thirty minutes after leaving, Rick’s brow furrowed in confusion as I stepped through the front door. I hung my purse up and trudged over to the couch, practically collapsing down next to him and burying my face in his neck. Even though I had done all my crying, I still felt pretty pitiful and sighed deeply. “What’s going on?” I heard Rick ask.

“Looks like Lee got what he wanted. He fired me.”

“What?!?” Rick shouted, pulling me back and bringing my face to his. His eyes were filled with outraged fury and I ran a hand over his face to try to calm him back down. “Why the hell would he do that?”

“Well…apparently customers haven’t been too happy about the things they’ve been hearing about me. A few complaints came in and Lee said the way I talked to that woman last night was the last straw. Not much else I could have done.” I shrugged my shoulders to let Rick know that I wasn’t nearly as upset over as he was but his face never wavered.

“That’s such bullshit…” he quietly fumed.

“Hey…it’ll be okay. That wasn’t a great job anyways. I’ll find something better. Maybe it’s for the best.” I tried to soothe him with my words and he slumped back against the sofa with a short growl of frustration.

Running both hands over his face, he shrugged and said, “Yea…maybe. But I still hate it. You didn’t deserve that, baby.”

“I know, but I’m not worried about it. I’ll just look for something better and we’ll just have to tighten our belts in the meantime. I just…I really hope Daryl doesn’t feel like he’s responsible for it. I’m sure Lee was looking for a reason anyways. He was always on my ass about something.”

“If the way Daryl’s been feeling lately is any indication, then I’m sure he’ll feel at least partially at fault,” Rick mumbled with a shake of his head. We both worried about how our man was going to feel once we told him this piece of news.

“Then we just gotta be extra reassuring, I guess.” Rick nodded in reply and then we both settled into the couch to finish watching the morning news. A while later, I called my sister and told her what happened and she was just as upset about it as Rick. But she also knew that maybe it would give me the push to figure out what direction I wanted to take my life. After we hung up, I briefly called Darlene and let her know that I was doing okay. We promised to see each other soon and then I hung up with her as well.

 Just as I sat my phone down, it ended up ringing and when I picked it up, I saw it was my father calling. Feeling slightly apprehensive, I hit the answer button. “Hello?”

“Hey, Bethy. I just talked to Maggie and she told me about what happened at the diner. Wanted to call and tell you I’m sorry.” His sincere tone and warm voice felt like a set of strong arms wrapping me in a warm hug. There was always something about the kind, reassuring way my father spoke that made me feel better, no matter how mad I tried to stay at him.

“Thanks, Daddy,” I sighed. Even though his words made me feel a little better, the last conversation we’d had still echoed throughout my head. I wasn’t quite sure what else to say so we both stayed quiet for almost a full minute before he finally spoke again.

“Sweetheart, I know things are tough between us right now. But I just want you to know that I love ya and I miss ya. You’ve made your decision and that’s clear to me. I may not approve but that’s neither here nor there. You’ll always be my daughter, I’ll always care about ya and I’ll always worry about ya.”

“I know, Daddy. I love and miss you too…”

“Okay. Well, I hate to say it, but you’re better off not working at that place. You know I was never really a big fan. Maybe something good will come along.” I heard him chuckle lightly on the other end and that sound made the corners of my mouth quirk upwards.

“Maybe. Maggie said the same thing. I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.”

“I guess we will. In the meantime, I would love it if you started coming by the house again. My mailbox is starting to get overrun.”

Huffing out a short laugh, I replied, “Well, maybe I can get a job as a mailman and then I could just bring it right to your door.”

“Now you’re talking! Until then, why don’t you come by this week for dinner?”

“Mmm…” I bit my lip as I tried to think of an answer. I wanted to see my father, but I didn’t want him to think I was backing down on being with Rick and Daryl because his acceptance was still just as important to me as before. “I can…but only if I can bring Rick and Daryl…”

I thought he was going to groan at my proposal but he laughed instead which helped lighten some of the tension I was holding in my shoulders. “You are one stubborn girl, just like your sister. You ladies just don’t know when to quit. Alright, alright. Bring them both. But we better be eating something good!”

Now I was the one who laughed into the phone. “Okay. I’ll make sure we do.” We set it up for Thursday night and when we ended the call, I felt about a million times better. I was grinning ear to ear when I went to find Rick and tell him.

Awhile later, I started on dinner and I heard Daryl’s bike pull into driveway as I was peeling potatoes. The backdoor swung open a few seconds later and I smiled when he walked inside. “Hey. Aren’t you home early?” he asked, glancing at the clock on the microwave.

Biting my lip, I sat the potato I was peeling down and turned towards him. “Uh…yea. There’s a reason for that. Now don’t get upset…” I started. Wiping my hands off on a dish towel, I grabbed his arm and pulled him close, smelling grease and dirt on him from the garage. “Lee…decided to let me go today.”

“What? Why?” he bit out. His eyes widened and his voice was gruff with anger.

“It doesn’t matter why. I think it was a long time coming. He was just looking for a reason…” I sighed and shrugged my shoulders, stepping closer, trying to wrap my arms around him. His body was stiff against mine though and I heard him scoff a little as he took a step back.

“Nah…it was ‘cause of me, cause of us,” and he pointed from himself to me and then towards the living room where Rick currently was. “Wasn’t it?”

“I…don’t know exactly,” I fibbed, looking down at the linoleum kitchen floor.

“You got a shit poker face, know that?” he mumbled quietly. When I finally looked up, I met Daryl’s eyes and saw every ounce of guilt that he felt; his shoulders slumped like he carried the weight of the world on them. Stepping closer, I grabbed both sides of his face and held him steady so he would listen.

“Look at me. Do I look like I care what that man thinks? Do I look like I lost something special today?” I questioned him. “No. And that’s because I don’t and I didn’t. It was a crummy waitress job and if people are gonna be that close-minded and judgmental then I don’t wanna have to feed them bullshit niceties as I serve them their coffee. Some things are meant to happen, sweetie. I love you and Rick loves you. That’s all that matters.”

Daryl was quiet as I spoke, his eyes softening to sadness as my thumbs caressed his cheeks. “And when y’all’s lives go to shit? That still all that matters?”

“As long as we have you, then yes. I know you feel like this is your fault, but it’s not. You have to believe me when I say that, okay? We’re grown adults, we make our own decisions, nobody forces us. And…I don’t think I can live without you, so please don’t feel that way.” My eyes started to blur with tears and I blinked them back, trying to hold a steady gaze. “So…wipe that look off your face and go get in the shower. Dinner’s gonna be ready soon.”

I picked up the dish towel and gave Daryl a quick swat with it. He sighed in frustration but the side of his mouth quirked up a little which made me feel like things would be okay. He went to shower while I finished making dinner. After we ate, we all lounged on the couch and watched TV, eventually switching to playing a few rounds of cards.

We chatted and giggled occasionally, but Daryl was still mostly quiet for the better part of the night. He only nodded briefly when I told him about dinner with my father on Thursday. Later, when I went to the bathroom and came back, I found both men sitting close together on the couch, lazily kissing one another. Instead of joining them, I silently made my way over to the armchair and sat down, smiling as I watched them enjoy each other. Rick was running a hand up Daryl’s arm as their lips brushed together, slowly parting so their tongues could explore.

After a minute of heavy petting, Rick pulled back and looked around, finally spotting me in the chair. “Hey, you. Get over here,” he said, waving me over to the couch. But instead of letting them suck me in, I just smiled and shook my head.

“How about…y’all take it upstairs and I’ll be up in just a second. I’m gonna get a drink from the kitchen.” Rick looked skeptical at my suggestion, but Daryl only smirked and stood from the couch, pulling Rick up with him.

“Don’t be too long,” Daryl mumbled, giving me a quick kiss before he pulled Rick to the stairs. I watched them walk up before taking my time heading to the kitchen. I decided on a glass of wine and pulled a bottle from the fridge that hadn’t been opened yet. Digging around for the corkscrew, I finally managed to open the bottle and pour myself a glass of the dark red liquid.

After taking a few slow sips and standing by the counter for a few minutes, I finally made my way up the steps to our bedroom. Slipping past the doorway, I found the men on the bed in the heat of the moment. Their shirts were off and their pants were unbuttoned, feverishly kissing as they stroked at each other’s exposed erections. Watching them set a fire within me, but I didn’t want to interrupt what I’d been waiting and hoping to see.

My feet padded over to the corner of our room and I sat my wine glass down on a side table that held only a lamp and a photo of me and Rick. While I thought about changing that out to a photo of the three of us, I pulled some clothes off the small armchair we had in the corner and angled it towards the bed a little more. Sitting down in the chair, I picked up my wine and took another sip while I leaned back and got comfy.

When I placed the glass back down, it made a ding as it came in contact with the side table and that caused the two men to halt their movements and glance my way. “What’re you doing over there?” Rick asked from the bed. I chuckled at the their disheveled appearances, both men with hair already mussed and pants practically down to their knees but not yet kicked off.

“Oh…I just thought I’d watch tonight…” I said innocently, glancing towards the ceiling.

“Mmm…think she wants a show…” Daryl mumbled, leaning down to tease Rick’s ear with a light lick and a hot blow of breath. I watched as Rick closed his eyes and visibly shivered before smiling and looking back at me.

“Yea? Is that right, baby?” Rick asked from the bed before he sat up and finally pushed his pants off all the way. Then he got up on his knees and grabbed at Daryl’s waistband, yanking the hunter’s pants off as well.

“Maybe…” I said a little breathlessly as I watched my two men get naked on the bed. Rick gave me one his devilish grins before he ran his hands down Daryl’s body, stopping right at his hips and giving him a light tickle. Daryl smiled and wiggled underneath the scrutiny of Rick’s fingertips, his hard cock bouncing in the air as he did so.

“Alright…” Rick mumbled. “Tell us what you wanna see.” Now both faces turned towards me and I blushed a little as I tried to think of what to say.

“Uh…I don’t know,” I chuckled nervously. Grabbing my wine, I took another gulp as my fingers tapped against the stem of the glass. “What do you wanna show me?”

“Hmmm…” I heard Daryl mumble and then he grabbed Rick’s wrist and pulled him down. In an instant, they had changed positions so that Rick was on his side facing me with Daryl nestled behind him. “You tell us, sexy. Wanna see me jerk him off?” As he spoke, he reached down and gave Rick a long stroke from base to tip and I watched Rick’s eyes roll into the back of his head as he leaned an arm behind him and ran a hand through Daryl’s hair. I bit my lip and nodded in reply.

“Yea?” Daryl asked in his husky, low voice. “Wanna see me wrap my lips around him and suck him off?” His hand did another long, slow rub along Rick’s hard length and Rick turned his head to connect their lips, but Daryl’s eyes stayed on me through the kiss. I nodded again and Daryl pulled their lips apart to speak again. “C’mon, sexy. Tell me what you wanna see. Wanna hear it from that naughty little mouth of yours.”

Licking my lips, I took a deep breath before saying, “I…I wanna…I wanna see you fuck him.” Daryl’s eyes turned dark and lusty while Rick only looked at me with surprise and interest.

“You sure ‘bout that?” Daryl growled. I nodded one final time, my entire body feeling like it had gone up about ten degrees. Daryl cupped a hand around Rick’s face and turned it so their eyes could meet. His index finger caressed Rick’s chick while they gazed thoughtfully into each other. “What about you? You want that?” Daryl asked Rick, this time his voice going soft and sultry.

Rick’s hand covered Daryl’s and he nodded slowly. “Yea…I want that,” he answered, smiling a little. Daryl smirked right back and then looked up at me with the same expression. “But first,” and then Rick pointed at me, “those clothes, baby. They got to go.” I went to scoff in protest but ended up just rolling my eyes and standing from the chair. Once I had shed the offensive clothing, I sat my naked rear back down and gave both men the finger. “Nah…it’s my turn tonight,” Rick responded and we all laughed lightheartedly.

Daryl maneuvered Rick to lie on his back and then brought their lips together again. Instead of falling back to their feverish kissing of before, they moved their mouths together in a slow, sensual embrace. Taking the time to taste one another, their tongues dipped back and forth, in an almost teasing manner. Daryl held gently to Rick’s face while Rick’s fingers buried into Daryl’s shaggy mess of hair.

Soon their hips were rocking back and forth into each other, each man seeking sweet friction. Daryl trailed his lips down to Rick’s neck, planting a light kiss with each pass of his mouth. Working further south, he continued his exploration, occasionally giving Rick a small bite, of which I could only tell by the way Rick’s back would arch ever so slightly off the bed. A small smile played at Rick’s lips as he watched Daryl travel down his body.

Finally reaching his destination, Daryl nuzzled his face into Rick’s center, his hands running up and down the upper half of Rick’s body. Rick tossed his head back into the bed and sighed, his eyes closing shut as he enjoyed the feel of Daryl against him. I felt my own body heat up as I watched my two lovers get lost in one another. My own hands slid across my breasts, my skin craving attention while I watched such a beautiful sight.

Daryl looked up at Rick and then stuck his tongue out, licking a line all the way up Rick’s cock until he got to the head which he promptly engulfed between his wet lips. Rick took a sharp intake of breath and his eyes darted down just in time to watch Daryl’s mouth firmly envelope his cock, sliding down to take the entire length. “Oh, fuck,” Rick groaned, head falling back to hit the bed again.

Daryl’s lips and tongue caressed at Rick’s hardness, going tantalizingly slow and working his mouth along the entire shaft. Rick went from holding Daryl’s hands to fisting at the blanket beneath him as his brows furrowed in deep concentration. I could tell he was trying to hold back from thrusting into Daryl’s mouth, trying to savor the feel of this man’s lips on his velvety-smooth skin. 

Daryl brought his mouth all the way up until he had only the head past his lips and I could tell he swirled his tongue around just from the way Rick’s hips uncontrollably twitched. After that, Daryl brought his mouth off Rick with a pop and leaned over to the bedside table. He opened a drawer and pulled out a small bottle, the same one he’d brought along to the camping trip.

He opened it, Rick and I watching in anticipation as he poured a few drops onto his fingers. Bringing his beautiful mouth back to Rick’s cock, he did the same swirling maneuver as he positioned his hand underneath Rick. Rick spread his legs a little more and arched his back as Daryl dipped a finger into him. Going slowly, he teased Rick with his mouth while he prepped him from behind and before long Rick was giving him a small nod to let him know that he was ready.

Daryl extricated himself from Rick and then used the same bottle to ready his ever-hardening cock. Lowering his body on top of Rick, he kissed him gently as he used a hand to guide himself to Rick’s entrance. Rick’s hands were placed gingerly on Daryl’s shoulders and I could tell when Daryl entered him because Rick’s fingers dug into the hunter’s firm flesh.

Daryl went slow, his hips working back and forth in a gradual rhythm until he was fully seated in Rick. He took the time to pause and give Rick a deep, passionate kiss that practically had my heart melting from its sincerity. Just merely watching my two loves was enough to have me completely worked up and my own hand slipped between my legs. Sighing in exquisite pleasure, Daryl broke their kiss and glanced up at me, his eyes gleaming with want. “Show me,” he growled my way.

Taking his command to heart, I threw one leg over the arm of the chair to give him a better view and I watched as he bit his lip and hummed in approval. Turning back to Rick, he gave him another quick kiss before rocking his hips into the other man and Rick grunted as he pulled the hunter tight to him. Daryl set a steady pace and both men were letting small moans escape their mouths between hot, ragged breaths. Daryl sat up on his knees and wrapped Rick’s legs around his hips as he kept up his thrusting, not stopping for a second. Rick stroked at his thick, hard cock that bobbed in the air with each push into him.

Rick’s head was tossed back in ecstasy but Daryl watched with every movement and occasionally looked towards me, our eyes locking as my hand brought me closer and closer to the edge. My own breath matched the panting of the two men on the bed and I held my orgasm back until I could peak with them. Suddenly, Daryl had a change of heart and he pulled out only to lift Rick and turn him so he was on his knees, facing me.

Daryl got behind him and I watched as Rick’s eyes widened as the hunter filled him again. Daryl wrapped an arm around Rick’s chest and pull their bodies tightly together as he pumped into Rick harder and faster. Reaching the other hand around, he started to stroke Rick in time with each thrust and Rick groaned loudly. “Fuck, Daryl. You’re gonna make he come…” he panted.

“Yea? What about you, sexy? You gonna come with us?” Daryl asked. Both men had their eyes on me and I nodded in reply, breathing too hard to form words. Daryl gave me a small smirk and then focused on bringing Rick to the edge. Pumping his hand harder and pushing his hips faster, only a few seconds later, Rick cried out as he started to spill into Daryl’s hand.

Daryl followed quickly after, biting out a few low curse words as he emptied into Rick. Watching both of them come undone, I finally sent myself over the edge, whimpering little moans as my fingers pressed hard into my clit and waves of pleasure radiated throughout my body. My head fell back onto the chair and I breathed deeply as my heart rate slowed to its normal pace.

When I finally looked back up, both men had fallen onto the bed, completely depleted of all energy. The sight made me chuckle a little and Rick turned his head to look at me. “Get over here, baby,” he practically commanded and I finally obliged him. Crawling onto the bed, I deposited myself between my two loves and they enveloped me in a tight little hug.

“Like the show?” Daryl asked quietly, placing soft kisses into my hair.

“Mmm-hmm,” I nodded. “Think I’ll need a repeat performance soon.”

“Not too soon. Think I need some time to recover,” Rick countered with raised eyebrows and we fell into a fit of giggles. Eventually both men got up to get a quick shower and came back to bed smelling all fresh and clean.

Soon I fell asleep but woke a few hours later and turned over only to find Daryl’s side of the bed empty. I sat up and looked around but found no sign of him and that got me slightly worried. Throwing my sweater on, I padded downstairs and after checking the empty living room, I made my way to the kitchen and found Daryl sitting at the table, still naked, turning a glass of water in his hand.

“Hey, what’re you doing up?” I asked, walking over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Guess I could ask you the same,” he replied with a shrug.

“I woke up and you weren’t in bed. Got me worried. What’s going on?” I ran my fingers through his shaggy hair and he sighed, closing his eyes as he got lost in the sensation.

“Couldn’t really sleep…” he mumbled.

“Everything okay? You still worried over what we talked about earlier?” He looked at me in the low light of the kitchen and gave a small nod. I sighed and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, pushing his face into my chest as I hugged him to me. “Stop worrying so much. I promise everything is gonna be okay.”

“Yea…it will be,” he nodded, closing his own arms around my waist. Before I could ask him what he meant, he nudged his face in between the folds of my sweater, opening the front and running his lips over my bare breasts. I giggled and went to push him away but he only held me closer, running his hands from my thighs, up my hips and stomach, until he reached my shoulders where he slowly slid the sweater off until it fell to the floor and I stood before him naked.

He leaned back a little and sighed, running his hands over my pale form. “Ever tell you just how fucking beautiful you are?” he asked, eyes darting up to meet mine before they went back to roaming over my body.

Smiling, I nodded. “Yea, maybe once or twice.”

He smirked at my response and then stood up, his tan, slightly muscular frame towering over me. Picking me up by the waist, he sat me on the table in front of him and laid me down. I shivered slightly against the cold wood and he leaned over to start placing sweet, small kisses on my skin. Each spot on my neck, arms, chest and stomach tingled after his lips connected and he kept moving further south.

His mouth made its way to my center as his hands curled behind my knees and spread my legs open. He inhaled deeply and then sighed. “Love how you smell…” he mumbled before he ran his tongue along my slit. I couldn’t help but take a sharp breath and look down to meet his eyes that twinkled mischievously.

His hands slid up my thighs and spread my lips open to him where he dipped his tongue into my wetness. Then he trailed the tip of his tongue up to my clit and circled the sensitive bud until my hips bucked off the table. I gripped the edge of the wood beneath me while my heels rested on his knees where he sat in a chair in front of me.

He flicked his tongue against me and then pressed his lips around my clit, sucking just hard enough to make me gasp. “Daryl…” I moaned  and he pulled his lips off, only to give me one more long lick before standing up between my legs. Wrapping a hand underneath each knee, he pushed my legs back, spreading me even more for him and I watched as he gripped his already hard length and slid it into me.

Panting a little as he filled me, I smiled a little and said, “Jeez…Rick wasn’t enough?”

His mouth quirked up and he shook his head. “Nah…Think I needed you both tonight.” With that, he pulled out and pushed right back into me, making me almost see stars as hit that perfect spot inside of me. As he plunged into me and set a relentless pace, he trailed a hand over my body, not missing any single spot in his efforts to explore my skin.

His fingers were soft and sensual and the perfect balance against the roughness he used as his hips slammed into mine. “Oh, fuck…” I cried, reaching up to run my hands along his chest and stomach. His hands covered mine and he brought my fingers to his mouth, softly kissing each one.

“You know how much I love you and Rick?” he asked in a low voice. I bit my lip and nodded, starting to rock my hips into him, meeting each of his thrusts. “Know how I’d do anything for you two? Do anything to protect you?” His voice was turning ragged, eyes clouding over a little, and I nodded again.

He wrapped his arms underneath me and picked me up, backing up slightly before he sat down in the same chair, now with me on top straddling him. Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I planted my heels on the sides of the chair and started to roll my hips into his. He held a firm hand on my lower back, encouraging me to go faster as the other hand held onto the side of my face.

He brought our lips together for a fiery, hot kiss, only breaking apart when we both needed a breath. I could feel myself getting close and I rode him faster as my orgasm built. Our foreheads pressed together while our eyes locked and our breath, body, and heartbeats were almost as one as we got closer and closer to the edge.

“Oh, fuck. Beth, I love you so fucking much. I need you to know that,” Daryl bit out as we were almost there.

“I do…I love you too. I love you so much, Daryl…” I whispered with a small nod. With that, I rocked my hips into him one more time before I came undone. Holding his face with both hands, I locked my mouth onto his and groaned into him as I rode out my orgasm. He came right after me, nails digging into my lower back as he lifted his hips into mine, breaking our kiss to bury his face into my neck.

We held each other tight as we both caught our breath and came back down to reality. I ran my fingers through his messy hair and gave him a light kiss as I tried to stand back up on wobbly legs. Now I felt really exhausted and the bed was calling my name. He picked up my sweater and slid it back onto arms, wrapping it closed in the front. “Coming back to bed?” I asked him with a yawn.

“You go ahead. I’ll be up in a bit,” he said quietly, giving me a short kiss before turning me around towards the kitchen doorway and giving my butt a quick pat.

“Okay. Love you, sweetie,” I called to him as I walked away.

I heard him reply with a short, “Love you,” before I got to the stairs and made my way back to the bed. Climbing under the covers, I soon fell asleep, waking a little after eight the next morning. As I stretched in bed next to a still snoring Rick, I turned over and saw that there was still no Daryl on my other side. After hitting the bathroom and throwing some clothes on, I went downstairs and looked around, not finding him anywhere. When I glanced outside, I saw that his bike was gone and I felt like that was a little odd. Hurrying back to the kitchen, I didn’t see any note next to the coffeemaker this morning indicating why he had left early.

Stepping out the backdoor with Leah hot on my heels, I made my way to the garage and up the steps to his room. When I got there however, it looked almost like no one had lived here at all. The bed was made, the desk cleaned off, all the dresser drawers were empty. My heart plummeted down to the floor but my brain was still not wanting to register what it was seeing.

Looking around, I found no sign of Daryl’s things, only stopping when I looked on top of the desk. Lying on top of the otherwise bare desk was a page ripped out of the sketchbook me and Rick had gotten him for his birthday. On the paper was a sketch of the three of us, Daryl and Rick on either side with me in the middle. It was just of our faces, all three of us smiling and happy with my eyes slightly downcast while Rick and Daryl looked lovingly at me.

Below the picture, Daryl had written, “I’m sorry. I love you both too much to let you ruin your lives over me.” After reading those words, it finally sunk in. He left us. Clinging to the picture, I slowly sank to the floor and felt my heart break into a million little pieces. 


	31. Chapter 31

I wasn’t sure how long I sat there, clutching Daryl’s drawing to my chest, before I heard the steady clomp of Rick’s feet climbing the steps. He quickly took in my pitiful state, skin flushed a deep red while a steady mixture of tears and snot flowed freely down my face, and scooped me into his arms. “Oh shit, baby. What happened?” he asked me in almost a whisper.

I was crying too hard to form even a slightly coherent phrase, so I just shoved the paper at him and sank back down to my knees. Rick’s eyes scanned over the picture and then he looked around at the practically empty room. He sighed so deeply that I’m sure anyone within a mile radius would have heard him. Glancing up, I saw him run a hand over his face before he dropped down next to me and enveloped my small frame within his protective arms once again.

For awhile, we rocked back and forth and he made small shushing sounds as he rubbed a hand through my hair. My sobs eventually turned to slow crying which faded to light hiccups as I tried to catch my breath. Pulling back, Rick lifted the bottom of his shirt to my face and wiped away the mess that my crying spell had made.

“What are we gonna do?” I asked in the saddest voice I’d ever made.

“I don’t know, baby…” Rick sighed.

“But…can’t you find him? Bring him back?”

“I can try. But he might not wanna be found.” Rick shrugged his shoulders but the way his eyes turned downcast and the grim expression on his face, I could tell he was just as devastated as I was.

“Why would he do this? Why would he leave us?” I couldn’t help but feel completely baffled over this. I knew that we were going through a rough patch right now, but I also knew that we would've figured things out. Rick breathed deep and shook his head, looking down at the drawing that he still held in his hands.

“I think…I think he’s so use to running when things go wrong, he just didn’t know what else to do. He was probably thinking he was doing us a favor.”

“Well, he wasn’t! I told him I couldn’t live without him and then he ups and leaves. He can’t do this to us! After all the love we built together. After all the laughter and beautiful moments! Rick, he can’t do this! He just can’t!” I was starting to shout and wave my hands in the air as my anger and frustration built.

Rick could tell that I was starting to get worked up and he grabbed my wrists to hold them down. “I know, baby. I know exactly how you feel. I’ll make some calls, see what I can do, but I ain’t got too many friends at the station right now. We don’t even know where he could’ve gone. I’ll try my best to find him, but I can’t make you any promises.”

Rick leaned back and tilted his head so his eyes could meet my downcast gaze. I only bit my lip and nodded in response. He slowly stood and helped me to my feet. I bent down and snatched up the drawing we’d left sitting on the floor and held it tightly to my chest. Taking one last look at the empty room around us, I took a deep breath and headed back to the house.

I usually hated sitting around the house and doing nothing, but after the events the morning had provided, I couldn’t even bring myself to get up from the couch. Curling up into a ball, I leaned my head against one of the arms and draped a quilt over myself. I flicked through random TV channels, not staying on anything because nothing caught my attention. I tried to read a book but I couldn’t even focus on that and my thoughts drifted in and out, Daryl always on the edge of my mind.

Rick, on the other hand, couldn’t sit still. Usually he was the relaxed one while I was a ball of energy, but for some reason today had made us swap roles and he was on and off the phone all day long. In between calls, he paced the house, coming in to check on me every so often, but most of the time I heard him fiddling around in the kitchen. He kept offering to make me something to eat, but food was the last thing I wanted and I kept brushing off his insistent offers.

In the afternoon, he finally settled enough to sit next to me on the couch, pulling my feet into his lap and absentmindedly tugging at my toes. It didn’t last long though because his phone rang only a few minutes later and he walked to kitchen so he could talk over the TV. I got up to pee and as I walked to the hall bathroom, I glanced in the kitchen and saw him pacing the linoleum as he listened intently.

When I finished in the bathroom, there was silence coming from the kitchen and when I looked in again, I saw Rick standing by the counter with his shoulders slumped. He leaned his forehead against the overhead cupboard and as I stepped closer to him, I heard him sniffle lightly. Rick wasn’t much of a crier but when I heard that sniffle, I knew that he was upset.

Coming up behind me, I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned my head against his back. Hugging him tightly, I knew that, now, I needed to be strong for him, the way he was strong for me this morning. “What happened, baby?” I asked him quietly. He’d made so many phone calls today but hadn’t told me what any of them had been about. I didn’t bother to ask either because I figured if he had some news, he’d tell me.

“Aw, nothing really.” He took one final sniff before reaching a hand up to his face to wipe away any moisture. Turning around, he hugged me to him and placed a kiss on my head. “Nobody’s seen him. A couple of the guys said they’d keep an eye out, but he’s probably out of the county by now. Just frustrating is all.”

Pulling back, I brought a hand to his face and wiped at his eyes, getting a few spots that he’d missed. “I know it is. But you tried your best. I think all we can do is wait now.” Rick nodded solemnly and gave me soft kiss.

“I did talk to the Captain though. He said I can come back Monday. Said he’d count this as a suspension for fighting in the station with a fellow officer. Said the same goes for Pete too and that he’d try to enforce more tolerance in the workplace. Guess it don’t even matter now…” Rick trailed off and gave a short laugh of contempt with a roll of his eyes.

I watched as sadness overtook his features and I slowly ran a thumb across his cheek. “Hey, don’t be like that. We’re gonna figure this out, alright? I love you.”

“Love you too,” he whispered and we headed back to the couch. Awhile later, I finally relented and let him fix me some soup since I hadn’t eaten all day. We spent the rest of the evening in the living room, retiring to the bed earlier than usual since we were both so tired with our heavy hearts. Rick got in on his side and I couldn’t help but climb into the middle like Daryl was still sleeping with us. I faced his empty side of the bed and ran a hand over the bare space. Rick curled up behind me and held me close as tears slipped from my eyes again and eventually I fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion from all the grief I felt.

The next morning was quiet and we crept around the house like we didn’t want to disturb anything, lest Daryl come back and see that we continued our lives without him. I had just enough energy to wrap a throw blanket around my shoulders and walk out the front door, depositing myself on the porch swing. The morning was chilly but the sun was out as a breeze blew through the air.

Leah made circles at my feet until she finally got comfortable and laid down, resting her chin on her paws. Even she had been acting a little off since Daryl had left, making me realize that we truly were missing an important piece of our lives. Sighing, I sat quietly and watched the wind blow through the trees, using one foot to rock myself back and forth.

A minute later, Rick stepped outside and sat down next to me. He gave me a small half smile and sat one of my books on my lap. “Figured you might want this.”

“Thanks, baby.” Leaning over, I gave him a light kiss and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me tightly into him.

“Think I’m gonna run to the store. Going a little stir crazy in this house. I know you probably don’t, but wanna come with me?” I smiled briefly at his words; Rick always tried to be so considerate when he knew I was upset.

Shaking my head, I said, “Nah, baby. Think I’ll stay here.” Rick only nodded and stood to leave. He gave Leah a scratch behind the ears before walking to the steps and turning back.

“Be back in twenty, baby. Love you.”

“Love you, too,” I called back to him as he walked to his truck. He climbed in and pulled out of the driveway only a few seconds later. Sighing, I opened the book up that he brought me and tried to focus on the words in front of me. No matter what I did though, my thoughts kept drifting back to Daryl. Where was he? What was he doing?

I ended up reading the same page three times before finally giving up and tossing the book to the other end of the swing. Leaning my head back, I closed my eyes and tried to send my thoughts out into the universe, hoping that they’d find their way to my hunter and he’d realize just how much we needed him here.

A minute later, I heard Leah’s collar jingle as she lifted her head and started to whine. That’s when I heard a car start to pull down the driveway and I lifted my head up, thinking I’d find Rick coming back home for his wallet. He could be forgetful when he had a lot on his mind. Instead of Rick’s truck though, I saw a dark red, half-rusted Ford Bronco park in our driveway.

My brow furrowed in confusion because I didn’t recognize that car. I didn’t think any of Rick’s buddies drove that car either, which made me kind of nervous. I never liked having someone I didn’t know come to the house when I was alone. Looking down at myself and running a hand through my hair, I made sure I was mostly decent before I got up from the porch swing and stood at the top of the steps.

I watched as a man climbed out of the driver’s seat and took a quick look around before he spotted me on the porch. He gave me a half-smile and walked closer to the house, stopping about six feet away from the bottom of the steps. He looked older and his hair was cut close to his scalp. He was wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses that I could see my reflection in, even from where I was standing.

His button front, flannel shirt was left open to reveal a dirty white tank-top underneath and he wore dark jeans to complete the look. Pulling off his sunglasses and tucking them into his shirt pocket, he gave me a smile that didn’t reach quite all the way to his eyes. A smile that I felt right away I couldn’t trust.

“Well, hey there, sugar. You wouldn’t happen to know where I could find Daryl Dixon, would ya?” he asked in a light, yet abrasive voice.

That’s when I realized it. You couldn’t tell right away just by looking at the man, but once he spoke Daryl’s name, it suddenly clicked. The same hair color, similar face angles, even the way they carried themselves was almost the same, even if Daryl did tend to lean more into himself. My voice was like a rough piece of sandpaper against wood as I mumbled, “Merle…”


	32. Chapter 32

Merle’s lips curled upwards as soon as he heard me speak his name. “Good to know my reputation precedes me. What might your name be, sweetheart?” His rough voice dripped with false sincerity and it almost made my skin crawl.

“Uh…Beth. I’m Beth…” I mumbled, crossing my arms in front of me. Nibbling on my lower lip, I wondered when Rick was going to get back. Every hair on my body was sticking straight up from all the anxiety I felt.

“Well now, Beth. Seein' as we’re friends and all, I guess you could tell me the whereabouts of my dear brother.”

“Uh…he’s not here. Not anymore. He left yesterday.”

Merle’s face changed in an instant, from a fake friendliness to a more annoyed scowl that suited his demeanor much better. He brought a hand up and rubbed at his stubbled chin, taking a look around our property. “Left, huh? Now why would he do something like that?”

I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head as the tension in the air slowly ticked up a notch. “We…we don’t know. Packed his things and left on his bike. Not sure where he went.”

“We?” and Merle looked around again, arms spread out wide. “Whose this we? Look to be all alone here…” Then he brought his eyes back to me and I felt them scan over every inch of my body as his gazed turned predatory.

“No, not alone,” I quickly corrected. “My boyfriend, Rick, he’s a state trooper. He just ran to the store. He’ll be back in just a minute.” My words came tumbling out and Merle stuck out his lower lip and merely nodded at my jumbled phrasing.

“Now that you mention it, think a few people did say that my brother was shackin' up with a couple…”

“People?” I asked, my curiosity going into overdrive at how Merle had managed to find us.

“Oh, sure. I’ll tell ya all about it. But first, would ya mind if I came inside? Used your bathroom? Been driving awhile.” His face returned to its previous state, a niceness that I didn’t buy for a second.

“Um…well, I don’t know…” I stood there and tried to wrack my brain for a reason to tell him no. Broken toilet? Bad plumbing? We don’t allow crazy strangers into our house?

Before I could think of anything to say, Merle started walking towards the porch. “Nice place ya got here. I’d recognize Daryl’s handiwork on this yard any day of the week. Always knew his way 'round a lawnmower.” Merle had made his way up the porch by now and I had steadily backed up, my body pressing against the screen door.

He was only about a foot away but his frame towered over me and I realized just how small I truly am. Leah stood at my feet and Merle looked down at her. “Cute mutt,” he mumbled and leaned down to pet her. But before he could get there, she started to growl and leaped up, biting him on the hand. “Sonofabitch!” he yelled, ripping his hand away and clutching it to his chest. “Goddamn dog…”

I gasped in disbelief because I’d never seen Leah act that way towards anyone. It also confirmed what I knew to be true about Merle Dixon. Dogs could always judge a person’s character and both Leah and I knew that Merle was bad news. Merle pulled his hand away and we both looked at the bite. It wasn’t too deep, but it was enough for him to drip a little blood on the front porch.

“C’mon. Gotta let me in now. Less you want me to bleed everywhere.” He bit his words out through gritted teeth, still trying to seem somewhat friendly but I could tell that it was a stretch for him. His eyes cut daggers into Leah and I tried to hide her behind my legs.

“Uh…well…just for a second. To clean that up,” I said to him, even though it was against my better judgement. Turning around, I opened the door and we stepped inside the dark house. I quickly made my way to the kitchen, trying to put as much distance between us as possible, and Merle slowly followed me. His eyes scanned every inch of the interior, like he was trying to find any trace of his brother.

Once in the kitchen, I grabbed some towels and gave them to Merle to clean his hand off. While he did so, I ran to the bathroom and grabbed some gauze from the cabinet and brought that back to him as well. I stood by the kitchen table as he wrapped his hand and he glanced over at the kitchen counter. “My brother’s?” and he nodded to the drawing Daryl had left us yesterday morning.

I silently cursed myself for leaving that out. It was certainly not something I wanted Merle to see. I only nodded in reply as I swayed nervously in one spot, biting at my thumbnail. “Daryl was always good at that. Drawin’. Penmanship’s shit though. What’s that say? Ruin your lives?” He squinted at the words that Daryl had scrawled underneath the drawing and then looked back at me.

“Uh…maybe.” I walked over and grabbed the drawing, slipping it in one of the kitchen drawers and closing it firmly. Merle raised his eyebrows in surprise, like he hadn’t expected me to be so direct.

“Bathroom?” he asked, and looked over in the direction in which I had brought back the gauze. I nodded and he turned to head that way. I was tempted to run upstairs while he was in the bathroom and grab Rick’s gun he kept locked by the bed, but when Merle went in the bathroom, he didn’t bother to shut the door. Instead, I heard every second of him lifting the toilet seat and the loud splash as his pee hit the water.

I turned about ten different shades of red and my mouth fell open, but really how surprised could I be? Merle Dixon didn’t exactly seem like he followed rules of decorum. As he took of care of business, I tried to think of all the ways I could get him out of the house, the whole time keeping my fingers crossed that Rick would be home any second.

I heard Merle flush and he walked back into the kitchen, not even bothering to wash his hands which made me shiver in disgust. “So,” he said, clapping his hands together. “My brother…”

“He’s not here. I already told you that,” I cut him off. “I don’t know what people told you, but I have no clue where he could have gone. So…I don’t have any way to help you and if you don’t mind…” and I started to point to the door for him to leave.

“Whoa, now.” Merle held his hands out to stop me. “Can’t tell me that you spent all this time with my brother, doing all kinds of things,” and Merle raised his eyebrows in suggestion, “And not know where the man might have gone. Now I been looking from here to hell and back and I ain’t going nowhere ‘til I know where he went.” 

At the end of his sentence, all the false niceness faded from his voice and the real Merle Dixon came out. His eyes went sharp and took on a mean edge while his mouth crooked in a downward shape. “I’m…I’m sorry,” I sputtered. “But I really don’t know.” My eyes started to well up slightly as I started to grip the depravity of my situation. I was alone in a house with a man who seemed about twenty different kinds of dangerous and I had no way of defending myself.

“Oh, come now, sugar. Don’t you worry that pretty little head.” He walked over to the table and pulled out a chair, guiding me to it. I made sure to keep myself distanced from him but as I sat down he put both his hands on my shoulders and I cringed inwardly. “Now I know you been fucking around with him. How you think I found you? One mention of my brother and everyone in town talks about how he’s been living with you and your man, sinning in all kinda ways. Can’t say I’m surprised. Sweet thing like you…”

Merle ran a hand across my cheek and I recoiled, trying to pull myself away from him but his hand on my shoulder held me firmly in place. “But my brother jus’ up and leavin’? Somethin’ ‘bout that don’t sit right with me.  Now you got to know somethin’.”

“I don’t!” I cried out, a few tears springing from my eyes. Suddenly, I felt a little anger start to well up inside of me. This man was obviously a tyrant. No wonder Daryl left him behind and ended up stumbling into our lives. Turning around, I looked up and gave him the most hateful stare I could manage. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you. I love your brother and you’re…you’re not even half the man that he is.”

I watched as a fury built behind Merle’s eyes and he slowly walked around me until he was standing in front of my chair, bent over with his face right in front of mine. His lower jaw jutted out which gave him a truly pissed off look and I could smell beer on his breath even though it wasn’t even past ten in the morning. He grabbed my chin and I tried to yank my face from his hands.

He put a stop to that by giving me a smack on the cheek and I whimpered as my skin burned from the slap. Pointing at me, he growled, “Now listen, you lil’ ice queen bitch. You better watch that mouth or I’ll really give you somethin’ to cry ‘bout. I waited all mornin’ for your man to leave so we could have this here heart-to-heart, so you best give me somethin’ to go on. Daryl ain’t the chattiest of men, but I’m sure he mentioned a thing or two when y’all was laying up in bed. Tell me what I need to know to find my brother and you’ll never have to see me again.”

My heart was practically pounding out of my chest as his eyes bore into mine. I really, truly had no idea what to say, not even a decent lie came to mind. I was starting to shake a little when I finally heard a car pulling into the driveway. Exhaling, I hoped and prayed that it was Rick. Merle heard the car too and he rolled his eyes and cursed loudly as he quickly stomped to the front of the house to look out our bay window.

He came right back to the chair I was planted in front of and grabbed my face even tighter. “Looks like you lucked out. Now you play it cool when your man walks in here or I’ll make sure no one walks away from this in one piece.” He dipped his hand into his jeans and pulled back out a decently sized knife. It gleamed in the light of the kitchen before Merle tucked it back into his pocket and let my face go. “Goddamn…Can’t shit ever go right…” he mumbled under his breath before he walked over to the counter and tried to look as casual as possible leaning against it.

I stayed in my chair and tried to steady my breathing. I had a bad feeling this was going to turn violent and there was nothing I could do about it. I heard the screen door squeak as it was pulled open and Rick’s boots clomp on the hardwood floor. “Beth?!” I heard him call. He sounded worried as soon as he stepped inside and I wondered if he saw the blood drops on the front porch, not mention the strange car sitting in the driveway.

“Uh…In here…” I said as loud as I could manage in my anxious state. Only a few seconds later, he appeared in the kitchen and I met his worried eyes before he looked over to Merle. Rick’s face was a mixture of confusion, apprehension, and anger as he took in the elder Dixon. Merle stepped forward and held a hand out to Rick.

“Hey, there. Merle Dixon. You must be Rick. Came by lookin’ for my brother and met this young lady right here.” Rick’s eyes narrowed as he finally understood who was standing in front of him. He glanced down at the offered hand like he didn’t know what to make of it.

“Something happen to your hand?” Rick asked him. Merle looked down at his outstretched appendage that was wrapped up and slowly pulled it back to his body.

“Leah bit him,” I quickly mumbled from where I sat.

“Yea…nothin’ too bad though. So, you wouldn’t happen to know where my brother ran off to, would ya? ‘Cause I have just been searchin’ high and low for the lil’ son of a bitch and jus’ can’t find’im.”

“Uh…no. Haven’t seen him since night ‘fore last. What made you think he’d be here?” Rick asked him with a steady gaze. Slowly, he started to inch his way towards where I sat, trying not to make any sudden moves.

“People ‘round town pointed me this way. Guess you can’t keep no secrets here, huh?” Merle winked at Rick like he was trying to make a joke but Rick didn’t laugh. Instead, when he finally made it to me, he put a light hand on my shoulder and leaned down.

“You okay?” he whispered in my ear and I tried to think of an answer. I could never lie to Rick but the thought of Merle’s knife had me too scared to say anything at all. So I only shrugged my shoulders and looked down at my hands in my lap. Rick brought a hand to my face and lifted my chin up, turning me towards the light. “What happened? Your cheek’s all red.”

Taking a deep breath, my eyes darted over to Merle who gave me a deep scowl and ran his thumb across his throat, a threat of what he could do with his knife. Turning my gaze back to Rick, I watched his eyes turn from confusion to understanding, even though I hadn’t spoken a word. His mouth turned into a deep frown and he slowly turned around.

“You do that? You hit her?” Rick bit out.

Merle barked out a short laugh and held his hands up in innocence. “Hey, man. I didn’t do shit. Been here all of five minutes. Ain’t that right, princess?” Merle’s eyes cut over to me and I knew he was telling me to corroborate his story, but I couldn’t even begin to form the words. It didn’t matter though; Rick wouldn’t have believed them anyways.

“Bullshit. You think Daryl didn’t tell us about you? Think we don’t know who you are?” Rick’s tone turned dead serious and he grimaced at the elder Dixon. “I don’t care how long you been looking for Daryl. He ain’t here, we don’t know where he went, but I doubt I’d bother to tell you if we did. Now you should get the hell outta my house before we have some real problems.” Merle could tell that his game was over and I watched as his face went from calm to annoyed to irate as he listened to Rick speak.

Thoughts of the shiny metal on Merle’s knife flashed through my head and I reached out, grabbing onto Rick’s hand. “Rick…” I managed to whisper, hoping that he would rein it in. I didn’t want him to provoke Merle more than he already had. Even though Rick was in good shape, Merle probably had a good thirty pounds on him.

Merle sighed and ran a hand over his face, rolling his eyes in exasperation. “Goddammit. Try to do things the easy way, but it just don’t ever fuckin’ work. You gonna tell me where my damn brother is right the fuck now or we jus’ gonna have it out. Now I know you don’t wanna do that, ‘specially in front of your precious snowflake here who looks like she’d break in half on a windy day, so jus’ cut the bullshit and tell me where the fuck he went!”

Merle’s voice crescendoed at the end and he slammed his fist down on the counter. I gripped Rick’s hand even harder as the hit echoed throughout the kitchen. “I told we don’t know where he went,” Rick countered in a voice that was just as loud and firm. “Now it’s time for you to get the hell out of my house. I’m a state trooper, you’re trespassing. Now go!” He pointed to the back door, but his body language told me that he was getting ready for a struggle.

“No, no, no,” Merle said with a shake of his head, a sick, sardonic smile spread across his lips. “Ain’t no way y’all don’t know where that fucker went. He been staying here, shacking up for weeks. This lil’ cupcake over here says she loves him. From the look in your eye, Mr. State Trooper, I’d say you got some feelings for him too. Don’t surprise me none, though. Daryl always had a lil’ queer in him.” Merle shrugged his shoulders and then eyed Rick real close, rubbing two fingers on his chin as he pursed his lips in thought. Then he smiled and pointed at Rick, chuckling lightly and said, “Bet you was the chick, wasn’t ya? Look like all the pretty boys in prison who was always jus' a little too happy to take it.”

Rick’s body tensed and he stepped an inch towards Merle before I stood up and wrapped both of my hands on his shoulder, my best attempts at holding him back. “Rick, no. Please…” I begged him. The last thing I wanted was for this to turn physical.

“Yea…better listen to her, Mr. State Trooper. Don’t think you could take a piece of this,” and he held his hands up in fists, acting like he was in a boxing ring.

“Oh, I could, but I’d rather not get your blood on my nice kitchen floor,” Rick countered. “Think I’d rather put an APB out for ya, maybe even let those guys who you got caught up with know where you’re at. Let them take care of your sorry ass.”

Merle’s forehead creased in anger and I watched as his skin turned a dark red. “You motherfucker…” he mumbled before he walked the few feet separating him and Rick and threw a punch. Rick ducked the first one as he tried to push me backwards to get out of the way. I gulped a quick breath of surprise before turning my body sideways and backing up.

The next punch Merle threw ended up landing and got Rick right in the jaw. Rick saw it coming though and took the opportunity to get a rough punch into Merle’s stomach. Merle bent halfway over as the air was knocked out of him and Rick took a hand to the back of his head while he brought his knee upwards, planting it right into Merle’s nose.

Standing to the side with my hand over my mouth as this scene of violence unfolded, I heard Merle grunt in pain before he curled his body away from Rick. Rick tried to grab his arms and curled them behind his back, but Merle managed to wrench himself from Rick’s grip and ended up swinging around to plant another punch onto Rick. This one landed right in his eye and I could see Rick get dizzy as his vision blurred.

Merle took his chance to land two more hits before Rick keeled over, his balance unsteady. Instead of waiting for his vision come back into focus, Rick took advantage of his lowered stance by pushing all his weight at Merle’s torso and taking the man down to the ground. They wrestled for a few seconds before Merle got the upperhand and started laying more punches into Rick.

Leah had been cowering at my legs during all the confusion, but once they landed on the ground and Merle gained some leverage, she ran over and started biting at his ankles. Merle shouted and cursed, turning around to find Leah snarling at his feet. He paused the hits he was giving Rick to lift his leg and then rear his heel back, hitting Leah hard and throwing her to the other side of the room. She hit the wall with a whimper and I ran over to pick her up in my arms.

She was hurt pretty bad but I couldn’t tell exactly what was wrong, so I did the best I could by cradling her in my arms and turning back around to see what was happening to Rick. Merle had ceased his punching but was now fisting a hand into Rick’s hair, lifting and then pounding his head into the linoleum kitchen floor. Rick’s face was a mess of blood and I was starting to shake from the fear and anxiety that wracked my body. I needed to call 911 but I didn’t want to leave the kitchen either. Laying Leah down as gently as I could on the kitchen table, I ran over to the two men and started smacking Merle with as much force as I could manage.

“Get off of him!” I yelled. Merle paused what he was doing, only to rear an arm back and elbow me in the face. Then he pushed me as hard as he could and I fell backwards into the same chair I had been sitting in earlier. The square edge of the seat hit me right in the back and I slid the ground, writhing in pain as tears started to fall down my face.

“Merle! What the fuck you doing?!” I heard a familiar voice yell and when I whipped my head around, I saw Daryl walk into the kitchen. Merle had paused his beating on Rick to see the source of who called out his name, only to meet the bottom of Daryl’s boot as it was swiftly kicked into his face.


	33. Chapter 33

I scrambled to my feet as Daryl laid hit after hit into his brother. Merle was shocked at first by the appearance of the one man he’d been looking for, but that soon gave way to anger as Daryl’s fists made contact. While the two men fought it out, I ran to the living and grabbed the phone, dialing 911 as fast as I could and made my way back to the kitchen to check on Rick.

“9-1-1. What is your emergency?” I heard a voice say on the other end of the line. I grabbed a dish towel and fell to my knees next to Rick, who was coughing and trying to blink hard through the blood that fell into his eyes. He had a mess of scrapes and cuts on his face and I tried to clean him up as best as I could while I answered the operator.

“Yes. I have an intruder in my house. He assaulted my boyfriend. I need an ambulance right away.” The operator asked a couple questions that I quickly answered and after she confirmed my address, she assured me that an ambulance, as well as police officers, would be here shortly. Hanging up, I looked over to where Merle and Daryl were still fighting it out but Daryl had gained the upper hand.

Daryl had his weight pressed against Merle’s chest while his hands did the talking. Merle’s own hand snaked to his pocket and I quickly shouted to Daryl. “Watch out! He’s gotta knife!” Daryl caught Merle’s hand just as he was bringing the blade up and he wrenched the weapon from his brother’s fingers, tossing it to the other side of the room.

Bringing his arm back one more time, he brought his fist down as hard as he could and it collided with Merle’s face, knocking the man unconscious. Daryl huffed out a deep breath and wiped at his face with his forearm. Standing up, he walked to the sink and grabbed some zip ties that we kept in the cabinet, hurrying back to his brother. Flipping him over, he brought Merle’s hands behind his back and tightly zipped them together.

When he finally stood back up, our eyes met and I felt a rush of about twenty different emotions but hurt and anger were the biggest ones that were showing up on my radar. “He okay?” Daryl asked, nodding to Rick. He walked over and crouched down next to us, putting a hand on the side of Rick’s face. “Hey…still with us?” he asked Rick, who only groaned a little and gave a light nod. Tears were sliding down my face and Daryl lifted a hand to rest on my shoulder. But as soon as I felt his fingers on my skin, I pulled away and started to cry a little harder.

Even if he did come back, he still chose to leave in the first place and I was nowhere near ready to forgive him for that. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him look down, completely shamefaced and we sat there for the next few minutes, waiting to hear the sirens.

Once the ambulance got there, they loaded Rick onto a stretcher and took him outside. The police officers cut off Daryl’s makeshift cuffs and put their own on Merle, dragging him out to their cruiser. As I grabbed my purse and walked to the front door, I suddenly remembered Leah and turned back around, abruptly running right into Daryl.

He held my shoulders and pulled me back a little, looking down into my puffy, red face. “What is it?” he asked, his eyes showing me nothing but concern.

“Leah…she’s on the table. Merle…he kicked her. She’s hurt but I don’t know how bad…” I started to cry again and he hugged me to him. Even though I wanted to protest against his hold, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed and his strong arms made me feel better, made me feel safe again.

“I got her. You go with Rick to the hospital. I’ll meet you there.” He kissed the top of my head and then loosened his arms from around my frame. I merely nodded and turned around, heading for the ambulance. Climbing into the back, I held Rick’s hand as we made our way over to County General. He tried hard to stay awake but by the time we pulled into the ambulance bay, he had passed out and I climbed out so the paramedics could carry him in.

A nurse showed me to the waiting area and I sat down in a bright orange, plastic chair that squeaked with every move I made. I felt utterly alone and completely despondent as I sat and waited. About twenty minutes later, Daryl came running in and I watched as he ran up to the nurse’s station, asking for information. A nurse pointed to the waiting area where I was located and his eyes immediately found me.

He walked over and sat down next to me and I watched out of the corner of my eye as he debated whether or not to put his hand on mine. He settled with resting it on the back of my chair. “Heard anything yet?”

“No,” I shook my head. “Leah?”

“Took her to your Dad’s. He’s gonna fix her up.”

“What’d you say to him…about…” and I gestured to the hospital around us.

“Jus’ told him my brother blew into town lookin’ for me. Things got rough at the house. That you’re okay, but Rick got hurt and I was headed over here as soon as I left his place.” I only nodded in reply and we sat there in silence, impatiently waiting for an update.

After another twenty minutes, a doctor came out of the double doors that led to the back and looked down at a clipboard. “Grimes,” he called out, glancing around the waiting room. Me and Daryl shot up out of chairs and quickly made out way over to the doctor. He introduced himself and gave a rundown on Rick’s condition.

“Well, it looks like he got pretty banged up. Minor contusions and lacerations on his face and hands. He also has a minor concussion, but nothing seems too serious. I’m waiting on the results from the CT Scan and then we can probably send him home where he’ll need to take it easy.”

“Can we see him?” I asked eagerly. I needed to see him with my own two eyes to be sure that he was okay. The doctor smiled and nodded and we followed him back. This hospital was like a maze but he finally lead us to a curtained off hospital bed. Pulling the striped material back, I peaked inside and saw Rick laid back with is eyes closed, the fluorescent light above him only accentuating the darkening bruises on his face.

Stepping forward, I dropped my bag in a chair and walked up to his side, resting a hand on his arm. His eyes fluttered open and he turned his head, only one eye meeting mine because the other was swollen shut. “Hey, baby,” he whispered in a scratchy voice.

“Hey. How you feeling?” I ran a finger gingerly across his swollen cheek and he managed to give me a half smile.

“I’m okay. It looks worse than it feels.” He was trying to make me feel better, I could tell, but I was still worried.

“Well, looks like shit…” Daryl mumbled from the other side of Rick’s hospital bed and Rick turned to look at him.

“Hey…” he said lazily. “There you are.” He reached a hand out and Daryl quickly took it with his own. For the first time, I noticed how bad Daryl’s own hands looked, just as swollen and bruised as Rick’s. “We been missing ya. Glad you came back though. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t showed up.”

Daryl gave Rick a half smile and brought Rick’s hand up to his mouth, lightly kissing each bruised knuckle. “Yea…I was a damn fool…” he whispered afterwards. Hearing Daryl admit to his mistake suddenly made me angry. I didn’t know what he was going to say but I knew that I wasn’t quite ready to hear it and before he could say anything else, I cut him off.

“You need anything, baby? Thirsty?” Rick raised his eyebrows at my clipped tone but he knew better than to ask me about it.

“Uh…yea, sure. Maybe some water,” he suggested and I nodded quickly.

“Okay. Be right back,” I said, whipping my body around and exiting the curtained off area in search of water. I got maybe ten feet away before I heard him calling out behind me.

“Beth, wait!” Before I knew it, I felt Daryl’s hand gently land on my shoulder to stop me, but the touch of his skin on mine only incited me further. I couldn’t even stop myself as I whipped around and dropped my anger on him like a flash of lightning.

“Wait! Wait? Wait for what? For you to decide to come back when you just upped and left us? Why would I do that? Why would I give you that courtesy when you wouldn’t even bother to do the same for us?” My voice dripped with all the pent up feelings I had dealt with in the past two days and to Daryl’s credit, he never once looked away.

“I love you. Rick loves you. What don’t you understand about that? If we have problems, we fix them together! All three of us! You don’t just decide something like that without talking to us first! How dare you come into our lives, become a part of who we are, and then take it all away. Do you even know I felt yesterday morning? I felt like something in me had died, Daryl. What the hell were you thinking?!” I crossed my arms and stood a foot away from him, our eyes never breaking for a second even though mine had started let tears fall again.

“I…I don’t know. Beth…I’ve never felt this way…not ‘bout anyone. And the last thing I wanted to do was hurt you and Rick. But people were talkin’. You lost your job. Rick had problems too. I didn’t know what the fuck to do!” Daryl sounded exasperated as he threw his hands in the air. “All I ever been was trouble for everyone ‘round me. Look what happened today!”

“What happened with Merle, it wasn’t your fault. Rick would take a bullet for you, so he’d sure as hell take a beating from your brother if he had to. But I don’t care about Merle, Daryl. Why’d you leave us?”

Daryl sighed and ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head slowly. “You two…God, I love you both so fuckin’ much. But you deserve better than me, both of you. Deserve a life where y’all can go without people whisperin’ as ya walk down the street. Where y’all don’t get hassled at work. Where y’all can get married and have babies and no one’ll wonder who the daddy is. You shouldn’t screw your life over…jus’ ‘cause of me.”

“I never thought I was. But even if I did, shouldn’t that be my decision?” I stood with my hands on my hips as Daryl only shrugged in reply. “Me and Rick, both, we’d walk to the ends of the Earth for you, Daryl. Don’t you know that?” I didn’t even give him a chance to reply as I turned around and went to search for water. As I walked up to the nurse’s station and waited for someone to ask, a familiar face came into my view down at the other end of the counter.

“Well, if it isn’t little Beth Greene,” Jamie Brown called out and I couldn’t help but give him a small smile. I walked up and gave my old guitar teacher a light hug, his grey moustache splitting into a grin. “How you doin’, baby girl?”

Sighing, I brushed some hair out of my face before I replied. “I could be better, I s’pose.”

“You here for anythin’ serious? You’re Daddy doing okay?” His concerned eyes touched me and I patted him on the shoulder to reassure him.

“Oh, he’s fine. Just here for Rick. He has a mild concussion, but everything’s gonna be fine. What about you?”

“Martha’s up on the third floor. Gettin’ her second treatment of chemo.” His face took on a sad expression and I felt about twenty different kinds of awful.

“Oh, no. Jamie, I had no idea!” I gave him another hug, this one a little bit tighter than the last. “How’s she doing?”

“Good days and bad. Got diagnosed with breast cancer last month. Saw your Dad a couple days ago and told him ‘bout it. Always a good man, your dad.”

“Yea, we haven’t been on the best of terms here lately, so that must be why I hadn’t heard. But I’m so sorry. How’d the kids at the center take it?” Martha was the music teacher at the town’s community center and many a child in this town had learned how to play piano from her, myself included.

“Well…not good. But we all got high hopes. They seemed to have caught it early. So we have our fingers crossed. But I know she misses them kids.”

“Maybe she’ll be back to them soon?” I asked, hope in my voice.

“Not for a few months, at least. Maybe more. Until then, they don’t have no one to take her place.” Then Jamie gave me a look of intrigue as he ran two fingers over his moustache to smooth it down. “Say…didn’t I hear somethin’ ‘bout you not working at the diner no more? You lookin’ for somethin’ new?”

I raised my eyebrows in surprise, somewhat taken aback at what Jamie was suggesting. “Well…I am,” I managed to sputter. “But…people ‘round town haven’t been taking too kindly to me lately. I’m sure you’ve heard.” And I looked everywhere but Jamie’s face as my skin flushed red.

“Aw, that’s all horseshit,” he waved off. “People jus’ don’t know what to make of nothin’ new. Let them fuss and in a month, it’ll all be over. If it helps, I’ll give you a glowin’ recommendation.” He gave me a big smile and I couldn’t help but give him one back.

“Yea? You’d do that for me?” The niceness that this one man had always shown me was overwhelming and I didn’t know how I’d ever be able to repay him.

“Well, absolutely. How else people gonna learn that I’m the best guitar teacher ‘round town? From my best student, that’s how,” and he nodded at me. I chuckled at his words and he gave me the information of who to contact about the job. Hugging him goodbye and wishing the best to Martha, I finally found a nurse who gave me a pitcher of water for Rick and I made my way back to his bed.

Coming up on the curtain, I peaked in between the small opening and saw Daryl sitting next to Rick, his head resting on the edge of Rick’s bed while Rick ran his fingers through Daryl’s shaggy hair. “Think she’ll ever forgive me?” I heard Daryl mumble to Rick. Standing just close enough to hear them talk, I listened closely for Rick’s response.

“Course she will. That girl’s crazy ‘bout you. But you hurt her pretty bad. That’s not an easy wound to get over…”

“I know,” Daryl sighed. “I fucked up. Got three counties away, stopped at a motel for the night to try and sleep but all I could think was how much I was fuckin’ up. Next mornin’, hopped back on the bike and came right back. When I stopped for gas in town, someone told me that a guy in a bronco had come by lookin’ for me. Knew it was Merle, so I got to the house fast as I could. But I was still too late.”

Daryl reached up and ran his hand over Rick’s swollen and bruised face. Rick grabbed Daryl’s hand and kissed his palm. “Hey, I’m fine. All this will heal. I’d take a hit for you any day.”

Daryl smirked and shook his head. “S'what Beth said. So, you ain’t mad at me?”

“Nah…I think…I think I kinda understand a little more than she does. Beth thinks that if you love something or someone, you hold it tight and never let it go. But I know…sometimes when you love something so much, you think it’d be better if you weren’t there to hurt it in the long run. And I think that’s what you thought.” Daryl nodded solemnly, pressing his forehead against Rick’s hand.

“Yea…” Daryl sighed. “How am I gonna fix this?”

“Don’t know exactly. Think you’ll just have to make it clear that you aren’t going anywhere again, no matter how tough it gets. Right?” Rick looked at Daryl pointedly, eyebrows raised high.

The hunter tried to hold back a smile as he nodded in reply. “Yea, you’re right ‘bout that. Think I finally learned that runnin’ don’t solve nothin’, not when it counts. So you forgive me, then?”

“Yea, I’ll always forgive you. That’s what you do when you love someone. And she will too. You know you belong here with us. Nothing felt right with you gone. Like a puzzle that was missing that one piece, the picture still looked nice but it just wasn’t complete. You’re our last piece, we aren’t whole without you.”

Daryl sat with his chin resting in his hands and his eyes watched Rick as he spoke. Once Rick had finished, I saw more than one tear fall down Daryl’s face but Rick was quick to wipe them away. Daryl leaned forward and brought a few gentle kisses to Rick’s bruised mouth. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered to Rick, looking into his eyes as he held both sides of his face. “I’ll never leave y’all again. I’m not right without y’all either.” Rick smiled and nodded as Daryl sat back down in his chair, their swollen and bruised hands tightly interlocked.

I had to brush away a few tears of my own and gather myself together before I walked past the curtain. Rick looked happy to see me but Daryl bit his thumbnail nervously, like he wasn’t sure if I was going to blow up at him again. “Did you have to walk out to the well and pump it to get that water?” Rick joked as I poured him a glass.

“Actually, I ran into Jamie at the nurse’s station. We chatted for a minute. He’s here with his wife while she has chemo.” Rick frowned at that bit of news as he sipped his water. “Apparently it’s breast cancer, but they caught it early so they’re optimistic. But until she recovers, the community center is out of a music teacher.” Rick and Daryl both nodded as I spoke and finally added the last part of my conversation with my former teacher. “And Jamie…well, he said he’d actually love to give me a good recommendation for the job…”

Flicking my eyes up to their faces, both men had somewhat surprised but also pleased looks on their faces. “Yea? Is that something you’d want to do?” Rick asked me.

“Well, I don’t see why not. I love to play and I think I’m pretty decent at it…”

“Better than decent,” Daryl mumbled from the other side of the hospital bed and I blushed a little, but maintained a neutral face because I didn’t want him to think I’d forgiven him just quite yet.

“So…yea, I think I’d like to give it a try.” I shrugged my shoulders and tried to play it off like it wasn’t a big deal, but really I just didn’t want to seem too excited in case it didn’t work out.

“That’s great, baby. I think you’ll like doing that,” Rick smiled, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards him. Our lips touched lightly and then I gave him an extra kiss on top of his head as I tried to hold back a smile.

“Yea, I think you’ll do real good at that,” Daryl said and I looked over at him. He glanced at me and then quickly looked away, his face still full of shame and guilt. He looked so pitiful, I just couldn’t help but not stay mad at him anymore. Not to mention the fact that I’d missed him like crazy since he’d left and seeing him again made me feel about a million times better.

Sighing, I looked over to Rick who merely smirked and nodded his head towards the hunter, pushing me to go to him. I walked around the bed and in one smooth motion, I lifted Daryl’s arms up and slid onto his lap, wrapping my arms around his strong shoulders. He looked surprised but took the opportunity to hug me close to him, burying his face into my neck.

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry…I’m sorry…” he whispered into me, shaking his head from side to side.

“I know, sweetie. I’m sorry I bit your head off earlier. But Daryl,” and I pulled back so he would lift his head and meet my eyes. “You can’t ever do that again. I mean it. I love you so much, but it just about killed me and Rick. Never. Again.” Daryl nodded solemnly at my words and pulled me to him once again.

“I won’t. Not ever. I’ll do anythin’ to make it up to you guys. Anythin’.”  

“Well, now that you say it, I do have some rules.” Daryl pulled back and looked at me with surprise. I guess he didn’t expect me to have a list ready and waiting. When he looked over to Rick, Rick only raised his arms in innocence and shook his head.

“Don’t look at me. She makes all the rules. You gotta know that by now,” and Rick gave me a wink. Daryl chuckled before turning back to me.

“Alright. Lay ‘em on me,” he said.

“First, when you bring your stuff back in, bring it into the house. I want you to be with us, upstairs. The garage is too far away and you’re practically sleeping with us every night anyways.” Daryl nodded and I turned to Rick who gave me a thumbs up. “And…I want a date night. Once a week with both of you and then once a week with just Rick and then once a week with just you. And I suppose you guys could have your own night, if you want,” I added, sarcastically rolling my eyes.

Both men chuckled and Daryl tickled my side. “Okay. Anythin’ else?”

“Mmm,” I mumbled, smoothing down his messy hair. “You just gotta promise to be upfront with me and Rick. No matter what you’re feeling, we gotta work on it together. That’s what a relationship is.” Daryl’s eyes softened and he leaned forward to give me a kiss. “And…I think a haircut is in order too,” I added when we broke apart.

“What?!” Daryl cried out indignantly. He brought his hands to his long, shaggy hair and covered his head protectively. “Nah…We ain’t gotta do all that…” He looked to Rick for some back-up, but Rick only laughed at Daryl’s puppy dog eyes.

“Hey, you said anything, right? ‘Sides, I don’t think a trim would kill ya,” Rick said to him and Daryl gave him the finger.

“Fine,” Daryl pouted, rolling his eyes. But he gave me a small smile before placing another kiss on my lips and I knew he would get over it. We waited another hour in the busy hospital before we saw Rick’s doctor again who gave us the good results of Rick’s CT Scan. With that, Rick was discharged and we carried him back home with strict orders of taking it easy.

As we pulled up to the house, I found my father’s truck waiting for us in the driveway. He sat in the driver’s side and climbed out when he saw us drive in. Heading around to the other side, he opened his passenger door and gently lifted Leah out. Running up to him, I took her into my arms and saw a cast covering one of her front legs. “Oh, gosh. Is she okay?” I asked him.

“Yea, she’ll be okay. A broken leg and some bruising. Keep an eye on her, of course, but she should heal jus’ fine. Now, are you okay?” he asked me, placing both hands on my shoulders and giving me a good once over.

“Yea, I’m fine,” I replied, even though my back was aching from where I’d hit that chair so hard. “Daryl really saved the day. If he hadn’t come in when he did, Rick could’ve got hurt a lot worse.”

Daryl and Rick walked up behind us, having taken their time getting Rick out of the car, and they both gave Leah a light pet. “She’s okay?” Rick asked. I nodded and both men seemed to let some tension out of their shoulders.

“Look like hell, Rick,” my father said, clapping his hand on Rick’s shoulder. “What happened?” His eyes looked worried and I wasn’t exactly sure what to say. Biting my lip, I glanced over to my two men to see if they could think of anything better.

“Well, Merle came looking for Daryl. He wasn’t too pleased when I told him no. Things got physical when he wouldn’t leave. Daryl came home at the last minute and took Merle down. Thankfully, nothing worse happened.”

“Mmm-hmm…” my father mumbled as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder, disapproval clear in his eyes.

“Daddy…this wasn’t anybody’s fault. Well, except Merle, of course. But none of us knew that he’d come looking for Daryl like that. Cut these guys some slack. They’d never let anyone hurt me.” My father’s eyes softened at my chastising and he just sighed with a nod. We all turned around headed inside the house, Daryl stopping to grab his bags from the back of his bike.

If my father thought anything when Daryl walked inside and took his bags upstairs, he didn’t bother to say so and for that I was thankful. After I deposited Rick and Leah on the couch, I walked to the kitchen and quickly righted everything that had gotten knocked over. Looking into the fridge, I realized I didn’t want to cook anything and grabbed my phone to order out.

Later, once my father had been reassured that I was fine and safe, I walked him out to his truck and gave him a big hug. “Thank you for taking care of Leah, Daddy. I was so worried.”

“Trust me, honey, I was the one that was worried. But…” and then my father pulled back and looked down into my face. “But I think, now, I see I don’t need to be.” He gave me a small smile and brushed some hair out of my face. “I love you, Bethy. Now, you better call me when you hear about that job. If Jamie wants you to have it, then I’m sure you will.”

I gave him a brief nod and a smile before he turned around and climbed into his truck. He waved goodbye and headed back to his house. When I walked inside, Daryl was just finishing up the dishes while Rick was starting to nod off on the couch. Chuckling at his sleepy state, I helped Rick up the stairs and got him undressed and tucked into bed.

I was tired, too, after such a hectic day, but I decided I needed a shower to wash away what little stress I still felt. Just as I turned the water on and started to tug my clothes off, Daryl walked in and without any words, helped me pull my shirt off. He hissed in disapproval and ran a hand across my back. When I turned to look in the mirror, I saw the dark bruise that had grown where the chair had collided with my pale skin.

“Can’t believe that fucker did this to you,” he growled, eyes darkening with anger.

“Hey, it’s over now. He’s going to jail for a good long while, so we don’t need to worry ‘bout him.” What I said was true. After the police took our statements and the fact that Merle had assaulted a member of law enforcement, they said they were going to throw the book at him and there was no telling how long he’d be behind bars. The longer the better, as far as I was concerned.

Shedding the rest of my clothes, Daryl took off his own and we got into the shower together. He wrapped his body around mine, holding me close while the water poured over us. I sighed against him and the events of the day came rushing back. I couldn’t help but let loose on all the emotions I’d been feeling the past few days and quietly wept against him. He kissed the top of my head and ran soothing hands over my slick shoulders, giving me time to let it all out.

Between my hiccupping sobs, I managed to ask, “You promise? Promise you’ll never leave us again?”

Lifting my face up, he looked into my red eyes with his own steady, intense gaze. “I promise. I’ll never leave you and Rick again. Never. Not until the day I die. ‘Cause I’ll never be able to live without you two.”

I took his words to heart and gave him a big, sloppy kiss, threading my hands through his wet hair that would be trimmed soon enough. Once I calmed down, we slowly washed one another and then cut off the water. We took turns drying each other off with a towel and he combed my hair for me. I braided it to the side and then we headed to the bed.

I climbed into the middle and curled up behind Rick, wrapping an arm around the sleeping man. I felt the bed dip as Daryl slid in behind me and brought an arm across my body, making us the three little spoons that I loved so much. He kissed my neck and quietly whispered “I love you,” and I knew that he meant it because I felt the exact same way. I went to sleep feeling like all was right with the world and I knew I was exactly where I needed to be, in between the two loves of my life.


	34. Chapter 34

“Alright, alright. I guess we can open presents,” my father chuckled after I begged him for about the millionth time tonight. Everyone sat around our living room with big smiles plastered to their faces. I guess I’d made the eggnog a little stronger than I thought. Jumping up, I practically skipped to our Christmas tree and grabbed all the brightly wrapped gifts that sat underneath it, giving each one to its designated recipient according to the tag.

Sitting back down on the couch between Rick and Daryl, I looked around and buzzed with happiness. My father had his designated spot in the armchair with Sampson curled up at his feet. The dog kept an ever watchful eye out for Leah because she was feeling extra playful tonight with all the guests in the house. But instead she sat curled up on Daryl’s lap, where she had spent the better part of a few weeks while her leg healed.

My sister sat in the other armchair in the room while Glenn occupied the space on the floor right in front of her, his head leaning against her knee occasionally while she swept fingers through his hair. Sometimes the light would cause a sparkle to show on the diamond she wore on her ring finger now that Glenn had popped the question. He asked her yesterday, on Christmas Eve, but I knew about it weeks before then because he’d asked my father for permission first. My dad never was very good at keeping secrets. Either way, I was beyond thrilled for her when she showed me the ring and we danced in happiness.

All the men rolled their eyes as soon as we started tittering away about weddings and we told them they’d have to get used to it since we had awhile to plan. Maggie wanted to wait until she finished school in a year and a half which gave us lots of time to get everything just right. I couldn’t help but smile at the way my sister just glowed with love and joy every time she looked at Glenn. I secretly wondered if I looked that same way with Rick and Daryl because I surely knew I felt that way.

Slipping my hands into each one of theirs, I glanced at both of them on either side of me. They certainly had too much eggnog, having started about an hour before everyone else and they laughed with my family as their faces flushed with half-drunken smiles. These past few months had been wonderful. Rick had gone back to work and things eventually smoothed over, especially with the backing of his Captain. And my job at the community center was going better than I could've ever anticipated. I loved working with all the kids and while Jamie’s wife was on her way to recovery, there was talk of her completely retiring and letting me take over the position permanently.

“Me first!” Maggie called out, reaching for her gifts. Grabbing the one from us first, she ripped it open in record time and found a wedding planner as well as an empty photo collage frame. I figured these would be good gifts for her to start her new chapter with Glenn. “Aw…Sissy!” she gasped, jumping up and stepping over Glenn to make her way to me.

“It’s from all of us but I guess you can figure out who picked it,” I giggled as we hugged each other.

“Daryl, right?” she teased, patting my hunter on the shoulder. We all laughed as Daryl just huffed in sarcasm and rolled his eyes. When she sat back down she opened the card from our father and her eyes got wide as she saw this year’s Christmas check. My father gave up on giving us actual gifts years ago and resorted to money instead, making his life much easier. We had certainly never minded it.

“Now, that’s for the wedding. I know ya got awhile, but set it aside and it should take care of most of it,” my father said from the other side of the room. Maggie showed the check to Glenn whose own eyes got even wider and he got up to give my dad a handshake. Me, Rick and Daryl exchanged curious looks, interested to know just how much money this was. But I knew better than to ask with Daddy sitting right here.

After Maggie gave him a hug that lasted what seemed like forever, Glenn opened his gift from us, which was just a giftcard because I had no idea what else to get him. He thanked us and then we moved on to my father. Maggie was always practical and gave him a stack of white t-shirts and socks because that’s what he always asked for. I, on the other hand, always tried to be creative and give him something that he’d never buy for himself.

As he opened our present, I held my breath in anticipation, hoping that he’d love it just as much as I loved getting it for him. Lifting the lid to the box, inside he found a brown leather bible cover with a tree embossed on the front and his name just below it. When he opened it up, on the inside cover was an inset frame that I put a picture of me, Maggie and him in, from the last time we all three went camping together.

“Saw your bible at home the other week. It looked pretty worn so I figured maybe a cover would be good,” I mumbled from the couch, biting my thumbnail.

When he looked up, he gave me one of his big genuine smiles that went all the way through his thick, white beard. “Oh, Bethy. I love it, sweetheart. Come here,” and he held his arms out to me. I went to him and we hugged for a minute.

I relished this moment because, only a few months ago, our bond had been so strained over my relationship with Rick and Daryl. But after the incident with Merle, my father slowly started to open up more, realizing that both men would give me all the protection and love I’d ever need. They joked and cut up any time we were all together, which was usually at least once a week for dinner. Rick and Daryl had even built my father a ramp over his steps once we talked him into getting a small motorized scooter to help him around the house. He was hesitant at first, but once Daddy got used to it, he was zooming all around the yard and house, not having this much mobility since before he lost his leg. I hadn’t even checked his mail in over a month.

After I went back to sit between Rick and Daryl, it was our turn to open gifts. First, I opened the card from my father that was meant for all three of us. It contained a check for two hundred dollars and while I was sure it wasn’t anywhere as close to what Maggie and Glenn got, I was still extremely grateful. Rick and Daryl didn’t think it was anything to scoff at either and they both gave my dad a handshake that was just as big as Glenn’s.

After that, we opened our gifts from Maggie and Glenn, each of us getting sleeping bags that could all be zipped together. “Well, I know how much y’all like camping,” Maggie said and she gave me a surreptitious wink. I had to stifle back a laugh since my father had no idea just how much we liked camping. Both Rick and Daryl said brief thank you’s, blushing about five different shades of red. Rick poked my side and gave me a firm yet playful look that asked why I had told my sister and I only raised my eyebrows in innocence. But he didn’t buy that for a second and I finally had to laugh, Maggie joining in on the other side of the room.

Before my father could ask any questions, I picked up Daryl’s gift from me and Rick and sat it down on his lap. We had decided to wait to open presents with the family tonight instead of this morning, no matter how much I had begged both men to do otherwise. They refused my pleas though, even turning down my gratuitous offer of sexual favors in exchange for gifts. Even my pouty, puppy-dog eyes, which almost always worked, did nothing, so I had to wait until this evening, much to my discontent.

Daryl eyed the big box suspiciously before he slowly pulled the wrapping paper away. He took his time much like when we gave him his birthday present and after a full minute, he finally got the box unwrapped. Underneath was a plain, cardboard box that he cut open. I had stuffed the box full of old newspaper to hide the true gift underneath, making him dig around for it.

When his hand caught something, he slowly pulled it up. As the newspaper fell away, his eyes lit up once he realized what he was holding. It was a black crossbow, one of the best ones that we could afford and Rick picked it out after I suggested the idea. Daryl’s face looked completely dumbfounded and I only smiled at his reaction. Looking over at Rick, he smiled too and wrapped a hand around my shoulders, squeezing me a little to let me know how good we’d done.

“Can’t believe you guys did this…” Daryl mumbled as he turned the weapon around in his hand. “Must've cost a fortune…”

“Well, we saved a little. Figured you couldn’t really hunt without your weapon of choice, right?”

“Yea, and there’s some bolts in there, too. Maybe in a bit, we can go out back and try it out,” Rick said from my other side.

“Hell yea!” Daryl said and he gave us a both his signature smirk. Pulling out the bolts, he took one look at them before he sat both items on the coffee table, moved the box to the floor and then wrapped his arms around me and Rick, smothering us in a hug. We laughed in his embrace and I even heard Maggie and Glenn chuckling a little. “’Kay. Your turn,” Daryl said, pointing to Rick as he pulled away.

Rick raised his eyebrows and pointed at himself in mock surprise. Daryl went to the tree and grabbed the gift that was too heavy for me to carry over. He lifted it up, a wide, yet thin, package, and sat it in front of Rick. Rick furrowed his brows in confusion and looked over at me, seeing if I’d give anything away. I only shrugged my shoulders because I wasn’t going to let anything slip.

Reaching forward, he caught the wrapping paper at the corner and ripped it all way down the front. “Oh…wow…” Rick whispered as he took in his gift. In front of him was a framed picture that Daryl had drawn of all three of us. In it, we were sitting on the porch swing, me in the center while Rick and Daryl sat on either side. They each had an arm behind my head, their hands linked together, while their other hands held onto mine in their laps. At our feet was Leah, sitting with her head cocked to the side and her tongue hanging out.

Instead of looking at each other, we were all looking forward and smiling, obvious happiness and love emanating from our expressions. As soon as Daryl drew it, I knew that it was the perfect Christmas gift for Rick and I went to get it put in the best frame I could find. “Daryl drew it, obviously,” I giggled. “And I got it framed.”

“Yea…figured I’d finally draw you one, the right way,” and we knew he was referring to the one picture he’d left when he had ran away only a few months ago. That seemed like such a long time ago when I thought of it now. Our relationship had only gotten stronger and we didn’t try to hide it from anyone. Sure, we got strange looks sometimes and the occasional off-color comment, but we held our heads high and most people didn’t bother to say anything at all.

“It’s…” and Rick sighed, rubbing a hand over his mouth before gesturing to the drawing. “It’s amazing. Best gift I’ve ever got.” Rick pulled me in tight for a kiss and then stood up, bringing Daryl in for a hug and a quick peck as well. Maggie whistled from her chair and I gave her the finger, ignoring the chastising look my father gave me. “Thank you both. So much. I love you guys,” Rick said and then he held the picture up to show my father as well as Maggie and Glenn.

Everyone spoke of how well it was done and Daryl only blushed at the compliments. He hated showing off his artwork, but we loved to do it anyways. Rick picked the picture up and leaned it against the mantle over our unused fireplace. I knew that once everyone left, he wouldn’t waste a second in hanging it up.

At last, it was my turn and I bounced eagerly in my seat as I waited for my gift. Daryl picked up a tiny box that had been tucked inside one of the branches of the Christmas tree and sat it down in front of me. “Hey! I didn’t know that was there!” I cried out with my hands on my hips.

“Kinda the point,” he said and then winked. I scoffed at him, but smiled afterwards, and picked up the tiny boxy. I was about to rip into it when Rick stopped me by placing a hand over mine.

“Oh, wait. Don’t we have to go outside first, Daryl?” Rick asked. His voice had a mock confusion to it and I almost rolled my eyes.

“Hmmm…yea, I think so,” Daryl nodded and he looked to our guests as well. “Don’t y’all think we should go outside?”

“Yep!” they all replied with knowing smiles. I frowned because apparently everyone was in on this secret except for me and that always drove me crazy.

“C’mon, baby,” Rick said with a smile and he grabbed my hand, pulling me up from the couch. We all made our way outside, going a little slow for my dad’s benefit and they ended up dragging me to the driveway, standing in front of the garage. “Okay, you can open it now.”

With Rick’s go ahead, I pulled the paper off the box and flipped the lid open, my face taking on a confused expression as I found a key inside. “Huh? What?” I asked, looking up at the people around me. Then, Daryl pulled the garage door open and my jaw hit the floor. Where my old, beat-up Saturn should have been was now instead a much newer looking Honda Accord.

It was dark blue and I could see the garage light gleam off its sleek paint. Glancing down at the key in my hand, I gasped as I realized that they had given me a car for Christmas. “Oh my God!” I shouted. While it wasn’t a brand new car, it was still new to me and I knew it was going to be much better than the old, shoddy Saturn. Jumping up and down, I looked over to Rick and Daryl. “It’s mine?!”

They both laughed as they nodded and I screamed some more as I jumped over to my sister who hopped with me in my excitement. We laughed and I ran over to Rick and Daryl, throwing my arms around their shoulders and hugging them as tight as humanly possible. “I can’t believe you guys did this! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“You’re welcome, baby.”

“Yea, figured ya needed somethin’ a bit more reliable than that old clunker,” Daryl mumbled into my ear.

“How’d you guys do this?” I asked, more than a little stunned as I pulled away.

“Well, we worked some things out and you’re Dad helped us too. Think we all wanted you to be driving safer ‘round town,” Rick replied and he gave a brief nod to my father. Turning around, I met my father’s face and he had an amused twinkle in his eye. Walking over to him, I gave him a big hug as well and I felt him chuckle against me.

“Thank you, Daddy. This means so much to me.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie. But it was mostly those two over there. Must have looked at twenty different cars before they decided on this one. Daryl was determined.” Looking back at my two men, they both wore satisfied smiles and I had no idea how I was going to repay them for this. Well, maybe I had a few but that would have to wait until later.

“What you waitin’ for? Go look at it,” Daryl said, pointing to my new car and I squealed in excitement. Grabbing Maggie’s hand, we ran into the garage to check out every inch of my new vehicle.

Awhile later, after I had taken the car for a test drive and everyone had gotten a chance to try out Daryl’s crossbow, I hugged my family goodbye in the driveway. I thanked my dad one more time and gave him a big hug before he pulled out, promising to see him in a couple days for dinner. Maggie and I giggled over future weddings plans and whether or not we should make Glenn wear a full tuxedo.

Rick and Daryl only gave him a pat on the back in sympathy as Glenn begged them for help. “Sorry, man. As soon as you put that ring on her finger, you’re at her mercy,” Rick told my sister’s fiancé with a smile that was slightly smug.

“Yea, right. You won’t be saying that when they put you guys in monkey suits, too,” Glenn warned with a point of his finger. Rick and Daryl raised their eyebrows then and looked at each other with worried glances, only serving to make Glenn laugh at their expense. I chuckled too as I thought about seeing both of them in formalwear, then my thoughts turned naughty as I imagined taking it off them.

“Well, we’re gonna go,” my sister said, pulling me from my thoughts. We all hugged goodbye and they drove away, my sister waving from the passenger seat. Grabbing one hand of each man, we walked back inside linked together and I sighed in bliss at how wonderful our first Christmas had been and hoped that each one would be better than the last. 

Me and Daryl plopped down on the couch while Rick didn’t waste a second in grabbing a hammer and some nails, walking to the fireplace to hang the framed drawing Daryl and I had given him. “See? Told you he would love it,” I said to the hunter sitting next to me.

“More than love it,” Rick managed to mumble with nails between his teeth. Daryl only blushed at our comments and gave me a small smirk.

“I can’t believe you guys managed to keep the car a secret. How? When?” I asked, still slightly bewildered.

“Wasn’t easy,” Daryl said. “Kept the new car at your Dad’s, in his barn. When Maggie took you out yesterday, we managed to do the swap.”

“The hard part was keeping you away from the garage,” Rick chuckled as he straightened the picture on the wall. Now I knew why Daryl insisted on me staying inside today, not even letting me take Leah out.

“Y’all think you’re so sneaky, dontcha?” I asked both men, squinting my eyes at them.

“Yep!” they both chimed in unison, making me laugh and roll my eyes at the same time.

“There. Perfect,” Rick said as he walked backwards from the picture, holding his hands up to make sure it was just right. Smiling, he sat down next to Daryl and wrapped an arm around the hunter’s shoulders. Pulling him in close, he planted a big kiss right on his lips. “Thank you. You did an awesome job, baby,” Rick whispered.

Daryl blushed and looked down in embarrassment but I couldn’t tell if it was from the compliment or the endearment. Rick had gotten used to calling us both “baby” now and I thought it was sweet, if not slightly confusing at times when we were all in different rooms. “Thanks,” Daryl mumbled, fiddling with his hands in his lap.

“It’s a gorgeous frame too, huh?” I said sarcastically and both men fell over laughing. Rick reached across Daryl and grabbed my arm, dragging me over the hunter so I lay across both their laps.

“Yes, baby. It’s a beautiful frame. You did real good,” Rick said, nuzzling his face into my neck.

“Well, not nearly as good as you guys. Y’all definitely know how to surprise a girl.”

“Nah, I got the best gift. Gonna be able to eat like kings, now,” Daryl joked, running his fingers along the bottoms of my feet. I yanked my heels away from his tickling hands and giggled

“I don’t think I’ll be wanting to eat deer or squirrel every night from here to eternity, sweetie,” I told him with a pat on the shoulder.

“Always got rabbit, wild boar, beaver…” Daryl started but I quickly cut him off.

“Okay, okay. I get it. You could feed us for life if there was ever a zombie apocalypse or something. But until then, I think we’re safe.”

“Ya never know,” Daryl replied, giving me a wink.

“Yea, yea, yea,” I waved him off, yawning and stretching my arms.

“Tired, baby?” Rick asked, running a hand through my long hair.

“A little. But I don’t think I’m quite ready for bed yet,” and I gave him a naughty smile before I leaned in for a sexy kiss. Catching his lower lip, I gave him a quick nip before pulling back and raising my eyebrows, waiting for his response.

Rick smiled and looked over to Daryl. “You hear that? She’s not ready for bed yet. What d’ya think that means?” Rick asked in mock confusion.

“Hmmm…don’t know,” Daryl mumbled, rubbing a hand on his chin. Instead of asking me what I meant, like I thought he would, Daryl jumped up off the couch and picked me up, tossing half my body over his shoulder and trudging to the stairs.

“Hey!” I cried out. He smacked my butt lightly to silence me and I tried to turn my head to see Rick’s reaction as he followed us up the steps. My hair kept getting in the way though so I finally gave up. Walking into the bedroom that all three of us shared, Daryl gently deposited me onto the bed and I felt my cheeks try to return to their normal pale shade after all the blood rushed to them from being upside down.

Sitting upright, I quickly scrambled out of my clothes, getting naked in only seconds. “Think that might be the quickest I’ve ever seen take your clothes off baby,” Rick teased, slowly starting to unbutton his own shirt. I was impatient though and I shifted to sitting up on my knees and reaching out to him. Popping his shirt open, I saw a button or two fly to the floor, and before Rick could protest, I pulled the sleeves off of him and yanked his undershirt off.

Switching to Daryl, I pulled his shirt off as well and then undid his pants, scooting the waistband past his hips and down his legs. He stepped out of them and kicked them to the side and then I turned back to Rick and did the same thing with his jeans. After, both men stood before me naked, half hard, and I took them in each hand and started to stroke them, going back and forth between kissing them while their hands traveled over my upper body.

While they started to stiffen against my touch, Rick took his time kissing at my neck while Daryl’s lips worked against my own. Our tongues danced together and then I pulled back, making each man stand upright again. Leaning my body forward, I took Daryl into my mouth and heard him groan as my tongue slid over the velvety smooth skin of his cock. He was already dripping a bit of pre-come and my mouth ate it up, savoring the way he tasted. As I sucked on Daryl, I continued to stroke Rick and I felt their bodies angle towards one another and when I glanced up, I saw that they had started to kiss each other.

They hands tangled in each other’s hair as their lips connected, opened wide so their tongues could explore the mouths that they already knew so well. Popping my mouth off Daryl’s hardness, I turned and engulfed Rick’s length, making him break their kiss for a second as he watched me lower my head onto him. “Mmm…you’re so sexy, baby,” he whispered as he ran a hand through my hair, almost encouraging me to take him further.

My head bobbed up and down on his ever-hardening cock and I swirled my tongue around the head, making him sigh into Daryl’s mouth as their kissing resumed. After a minute, I pulled off of him as well and sat back on my heels. My hands kept rubbing them from base to tip as I watched the two men embrace one another, their mouths traveling to kiss and bite at ears and necks. After they had their fill, they broke away and looked down at me.

“So, how do y’all wanna do it tonight?” I asked them, licking my lips in anticipation.

“Hmm…” Rick mumbled, looking from me to Daryl as he contemplated. His hand traveled from Daryl’s shoulder to his ass and he gave it a good squeeze. “Think I want some of this.”

“Oh! While I get some of this?” I asked, and letting go of Rick’s thick length, I brought both hands to Daryl’s long cock and rubbed every inch of it. Daryl’s head fell back and he moaned a little as Rick slipped a hand further down Daryl’s ass, letting a finger play at his entrance.

“What do you think? That sound good to you, baby?” Rick asked in a breathy voice close to Daryl’s ear.

“Oh…fuck, yea,” Daryl growled out. Then he brought his head up and looked down at me with a naughty grin, “But first, think I need to taste this sexy girl.” Pushing my shoulders backwards, I fell back onto the bed and Rick pushed my legs up, spreading them wide for Daryl who crouched down and dipped his face to where my thighs met.

Spreading my lips open, he ran a thumb over my sensitive clit, making me squirm a little, and then he darted his tongue forward. Circling my clit, he lowered his mouth and dipped his tongue into my wetness and then trailed back up, flicking the tip of his tongue and making me gasp a little. Rick leaned forward and held my legs apart at the knees and his position ended up making his erection bob up and down next to Daryl’s face.

Unable to resist, Daryl pulled his face away from me and licked at Rick’s cock, all the while still rubbing at my sensitive bud with his thumb. Rick groaned and his eyes rolled back into his head at the sudden sensation he wasn’t expecting. “Fuck, Daryl…” he moaned and I felt his fingers dig into my skin. Suddenly, Daryl switched back to licking at me and used his hand to stroke Rick, causing me to laugh which quickly turned to panting as he got going.

Before I could get use to the feeling of his tongue though, he switched back to licking at Rick and rubbing at me, making me groan in amusement and frustration. Finally he popped his lips off Rick and stood up. Grabbing my hips, he scooted me up the bed and then positioned himself between my legs, lowering his body on top of mine.

Putting his weight on his elbows, he lowered his mouth to mine and I reached between us to guide him to me. Once his cock was at my entrance, he pushed forward and slipped right in. I sighed into his mouth as I quickly adjusted to his size and he didn’t waste any time pulling out and pushing all the way back into me. My hands slipped around his back and held him tight as he set a nice pace, thrusting slowly into me.

I heard Rick open the drawer to the nightstand and then felt the bed dip as he sat down beside us. We heard the bottle of lube pop open and then a second later, Daryl’s breath hitched a little in his throat as Rick slipped a finger into him. “Go slow…” Daryl said to Rick after he broke our kiss. “Had me sore for three days after last time.”

Daryl had only started to bottom for Rick a few weeks ago. Rick’s curiosity was killing him and they took things very slow the first time. While Daryl had liked it, he told me he could see why it hadn’t been a regular thing with me and Rick. They had only done it a couple times since then and I loved to watch each time, sometimes joining in when they insisted.

I heard Rick chuckle lightly and Daryl buried his face into my neck which let Rick into my view. Daryl kept at his same pace as Rick slid another finger into him and the hunter grunted softly, squeezing his hands into my hips. While Rick readied Daryl, he stroked at himself with his other hand and I loved how erotic that was. 

After a minute, Rick had him ready and Daryl sat up on his knees, leaning forward a little as Rick positioned himself behind him. He slowly pushed his way into Daryl and I ran my hands over the hunter’s chest and arms to try and keep him relaxed. Once Rick was fully seated inside of him, he wrapped his arms around Daryl’s torso and kissed his neck.

“Mmm…you feel so good, baby,” he whispered in Daryl’s ear, darting his tongue in and then giving him a soft bite. Daryl shivered and I felt it inside of me which made me smile a little. “Move for me, baby,” Rick commanded and Daryl obeyed.

Daryl lifted my legs to rest on his shoulders and gripped my hips to hold me in place. Then he thrust his hips forward and back, fucking me and Rick at the same time. “Fuck…” Daryl growled out, fingers squeezing into my legs. An intense look of pleasure overcame his face and I felt my own desire build just from watching him.

He slowly rocked his hips back and forth, letting one hand trail over my body while the other held me firmly against him. Behind him, Rick kissed a path from Daryl’s ear to his neck and then back up. He blew hot a breath into the hunter’s ear and then darted his tongue in quickly before pulling back and asking, “How’s this feel, baby? You like having us both?”

Daryl gave a deep grunt and nodded, his eyes only half-slits as sweat started to bead on his chest. His love-drunk response made me giggle slightly through my heavy breathing. Daryl took that as a challenge and started to work his hips a little faster, making me and Rick take a sharp breath at the same time. My hands went from twisting at the sheets beneath me to grasping at his hips as he thrusted, my feet going flat against his chest as my toes curled into him.

“Oh, fuck yes…” I managed to moan out between hot breaths. Daryl’s hands went to my ankles and his nails dug into my skin as he kept his pace steady, his cock going all the way into me before he pulled back out and pushed himself down on Rick’s hard length.

“Fuck…ain’t gonna last…” Daryl bit out as his head tipped back, exposing his neck to Rick who took the chance to plant a bite into it.

Holding onto his hips, I pulled his body into mine and begged, “Harder…please, baby…” Daryl listened and pushed into me with more force, hitting that perfect spot that had me arching off the bed. After only a minute, Daryl had brought me right to the edge and I could tell by the look on his face that he was about to come undone. “Oh God...almost…” I groaned, my body quickly tensing up.

Rick watched as I neared my peak and he hastily grabbed my foot closest to him and pulled it up, sucking two middle toes into his mouth. His warm tongue sent a jolt through my body and I smiled as he pushed me into my orgasm. My body practically lifted off the bed as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over me. As I slowly came down, Daryl’s own orgasm ripped through him and he fell forward, pushing my legs to the side and catching himself on his hands as he finished inside me.

Rick was last and his hands gripped Daryl’s shoulders as he pounded into him, coming with a loud groan as he tossed his head back. Once he was spent, he leaned forward and rested himself on top of Daryl who still lay on me, both being sure to shift their weight so I could breathe easy.

Running my fingers through their hair, I sighed in utter happiness. “I love it like this…when we just lay here after…” Daryl looked up and smirked at me, grabbing my hand and kissing my fingertips.

“Why’s that, baby?” Rick asked lazily, his head resting on Daryl’s shoulder.

“Because it’s just so…perfect. I know I always say it, but I really do wish we could stay like this forever. I never, not in a million years, thought that love could feel this way. That I could feel this way. And not just for one man, but for two!” I laughed for emphasis and even though I couldn’t see their faces, I knew they were both smiling with me.

With a sigh, Rick slowly lifted himself up off Daryl and I heard the hunter hiss a little as Rick slipped out of him. Rick turned to his side and then Daryl pulled himself up off of me and turned to lay opposite Rick so now I was in the middle once again. “Well, baby,” Rick said, smoothing back my hair, “Some things are meant to be. I think we got lucky.”

I smiled at him and then turned to Daryl when he started to speak. “Nah…wasn’t luck. It was all this girl, right here. None of it would’ve happened without her. Her and this big heart,” he said, one of his fingers tapping lightly against my chest. I chuckled and grabbed his hand with mine and then grabbed Rick’s with the other, bringing both to my mouth and kissing them together.

“Y’all got plenty big hearts too, ya know. We all do. In fact, we all share one big heart. I think that’s why we fit together so good. Our hearts weren’t beating quite right, but once we found each other…” and I placed both their hands on my chest and moved a hand to lay on each of their hearts. “They all fell in sync.”

Slow smiles spread across their faces and both men leaned in, all three of our mouths connecting at once in a soft kiss. I sighed in absolute bliss. No person or force of nature could ever make me doubt that these were the two men who I was suppose to spend the rest of my life with.

After our sentimental moment, all three of us climbed from the bed and got into the shower. We giggled as we tried to maneuver our bodies around so everyone could get a decent amount of water. After we were mostly clean, we dried each other off and Rick combed my hair while Daryl put fresh sheets on the bed. Getting under the covers, we cuddled up close just the way I liked it and I fell asleep knowing that I had all the love I would ever need in this world and some things really were just meant to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, my amazing readers. This is it for this one. Just want to say thanks to everyone who took the time to comment and give me awesome feedback. Even if you only said, "Love this!" it still meant the world to me and gave me the motivation to finish this. There were some tough moments, but I'm glad I pulled through and gave this story a proper ending. I know it's all mushy and stuff, but hey...I like mushy endings. So once again, thank you! Hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did when I was writing it.


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